Roses of Glass
by Lina-Li1
Summary: It's a Kyoru fic. Takes place after the anime. Kyo and Tohru struggle to have a relationship without Kyo transforming. Yuki does some pondering that could lead to a big change.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket or any of the characters from it. I do own two Kyo window decals though.  
  
A/N: This is my first Fruba fic. It's definitely a Kyoru fic, even though the first chapter has a lot of Yuki, so if you are a Yukiru fan, you probably shouldn't read it. But to be honest, Yuki creeps me out a little bit. Anyway, the title comes from the translation of the song Scarlet, from Ceres (I don't own that either). The full line is "when they're more fragile and fleeting than roses of glass, why should it be our destiny to have dreams?" Hopefully it will make sense later why I chose this title. It takes place after the end of the anime.  
  
Roses of Glass  
  
Chapter 1  
  
Yuki sat on the porch of Shigure's house, watching Tohru and Kyo share a picnic lunch on the lawn. He watched without emotion as Tohru leaned over to feed Kyo some specific delicacy that she had picked out. Inside, Yuki was somewhat in awe over the fact that he felt no jealousy towards the cat anymore. It had been about a month since Kyo's transformation and the visit to Akito. In that time, Yuki had come to realize a few things. First was that, while he did love Tohru Honda, he was not IN love with her. The second was that he was somewhat relieved by this, as he watched Tohru and Kyo struggle to start a relationship in which they could never embrace each other. He supposed it could be said that he no longer hated the cat. If anything, he felt a bit sorry for Kyo to have finally found someone he truly loved, who love him in return, and to never be able to hold that person.  
  
Thinking back, he realized that he should have figured out sooner about his true feelings toward Tohru. He should have realized on the day the she fell ill and Kyo made the leek soup for her. Kyo had cared enough about Tohru to make a meal that he would otherwise never have gone near, while he himself had been more concerned with the fact that Kyo had taken the leeks from the secret base.  
  
Along with all these other realizations of Yuki's came the knowledge that if Kyo and Tohru were struggling in their relationship, that meant that if Yuki were ever to find happiness in such a relationship, he would have to fall for one of the female members of the Juunishi. Or find a way to break the curse.  
  
Coming out of his thoughts, he glanced again at the new couple. Breaking the curse would be the best solution for everyone. It was just too bad that nobody know how to do it. With a newfound resolve, Yuki decided that he would do everything within his power to find a way to break the curse, not only for himself, but also for Tohru and Kyo and all the other Juunishi. They all deserved a chance to live normal lives, even if it meant going against Akito.  
  
Meanwhile, Tohru and Kyo were totally oblivious to the raging current of Yuki's mind. They were completely absorbed in thoughts of each other. Tohru looked up into Kyo's eyes. She had always known that she would eventually have to choose between Yuki and Kyo. She had thought that it would be the most difficult decision she would ever make in her life. But when Kyo had held her and repeated her name in a choked whisper after his transformation she knew, without a doubt, which boy had won her heart. She was glad that Yuki seemed to be handling the decision well. And now, as Kyo faced her with a tentative smile, she knew that she had made the right choice.  
  
Kyo was busy marveling over the fact that Tohru had accepted him, even after seeing his monstrous form. She had said that she wanted them to stay together. That would have been enough for him. But she had gone a step beyond, and chosen him over the damn rat. Actually, he didn't really think of Yuki as the damn rat anymore, having finally beaten him at the one thing that Kyo felt really, truly mattered. While he was staring into Tohru's eyes he thought to himself that the only thing that could make him any happier than he was at the moment, would be if he could hold Tohru in his arms without turning into a cat. But he had to admit that even though turning into a cat had some benefits. Unbeknownst to Yuki or Shigure, he had spent a few nights in Tohru's bed in his cat form. He doubted he would get away with that as a human.  
  
The mood was suddenly disrupted as Shigure came flying out of the house, being chased by his editor, Mii. Kyo and Yuki both groaned. When was Shigure going to grow up? Even Hatori, who Shigure usually listened to more than others, had told him to stop picking on his editor, but it didn't make any difference. Shigure ran right between Tohru and Kyo, causing Kyo to glare at him and open his mouth to yell something foul-mouthed. Luckily, Tohru noticed and silenced Kyo with a soft kiss.  
  
Yuki, watching the whole scene, chuckled as the cat turned a deep shade of red. It seemed that even Shigure could benefit from having the curse broken. Maybe it would finally cause him to settle down and act more like an adult. Yuki sighed as he watched Shigure dancing around a tree like an idiot. Or maybe not. 


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket or any of the characters. And Kyo's gift to Tohru comes from Brian Andreas' collection, Story People, and I don't own that either.  
  
A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed the first chapter, you guys made me so happy. Anyway, this chapter is really a bit of Kyoru fluff so I hope you enjoy. Also, starting on the 10th, I will be without a computer for about two weeks. I will try to get at least one more chapter up before then, but after the 10th it will be awhile.  
  
Roses of Glass  
  
Chapter 2  
  
Kyo Sohma was undeniably happy. He had actually just sat through dinner with a dopey grin all but plastered on his face. It took all his control not to break into a face-splitting grin every time he brushed elbows or knees with Tohru, watching, as a blush would paint her cheeks. He could only imagine what he himself must have looked like. Amazing, he had only actually hit Shigure once at dinner, seeing as how all Shigure had done was tease him and Tohru.  
  
Now he was alone in the kitchen with Tohru, helping her wash and dry the dinner dishes. He stood silently, trying to listen as she chattered away cheerfully. He was struggling to follow her though, as he was busy trying to work up the courage to ask her out on their first official date. He had been planning how he would ask her for days now, he just had to work up the nerve and wait for the opportune moment.  
  
He watched the soap bubbles fly into air as Tohru lifted the last plate out of the dishwater. That was perfect. "Hey, Tohru." he began.  
  
Tohru turned to face him as she heard her name and slipped in a small puddle of water that was on the floor. Kyo jumped forward to catch Tohru before she hit the ground. This resulted in him transforming into a cat and Tohru landing on top of him. So much for the opportune moment.  
  
"Yah! Kyo! I am so sorry! You were trying to ask me something and I turned you into a cat."  
  
Kyo sighed, "It's alright. You don't have to apologize. I'm the one who grabbed onto you. Wait! I didn't mean that the way it sounded."  
  
Tohru giggled as the kitty Kyo turned bright red, "So what were you going to ask me?"  
  
Kyo turned an even deeper shade of red, "Um, d -did you, I mean would you want to maybe see a movie with me this weekend or something?"  
  
"Oh, Kyo, I would love to. And I haven't seen a movie is so long," Tohru picked up the cat and hugged him to her chest. It was amazing how deep a blush Kyo could display as a cat.  
  
"Oh yeah," he started, "I also got you something. It's over in my sweatshirt pocket."  
  
Tohru crawled over to Kyo's sweatshirt and reached in the pocket. What she pulled out was a small piece of driftwood, painted up to look kind of like a person. On the person's stomach there were a few lines of writing that said: She fell in love with him before he even thought it possible so he couldn't run away or mess it up. Though it was scary sometimes, mainly he couldn't imagine his life without her in it.  
  
As Tohru read the message on the present, tears came to her eyes and started to roll down her cheeks. When Kyo noticed this, he nearly freaked out, "What's wrong? You don't like it, do you? Or maybe.."  
  
Tohru placed a finger over his lips to quiet him. "There's nothing wrong," she said, "I'm just so happy. This is the best gift anyone ever gave me, Kyo."  
  
"Yeah well," he said gloomily, "I just wish I could have been a human when I gave it to you."  
  
"Don't worry, Kyo. I'm sure that we'll find a way to break the curse. Even if it takes a long, long time, I'll be here with you. And someday, I'll be able to hug you without you transforming. I just know it!" Tohru exclaimed, catching the gloomy hint in Kyo's voice.  
  
Kyo looked into her eyes for a moment before dropping his own eyes to the ground, "Will you do me a favor, then? Will you actually make a promise to stay with me, even if we never break the curse? I know that you take promises seriously and won't break one."  
  
Tohru blinked once, then smiled, "Of course! I promise you, Kyo, that no matter how long it takes to break the Sohma curse, and even if we never do, although I'm sure we will, I will always be here for you. We'll stay together, always. Now I want you to promise me the same thing."  
  
Kyo's head shot up in surprise, then he gave her a small smile, "You really are something, you know that? Okay, I swear that no matter what happens with the Sohma curse, I'll always stay with you."  
  
Kyo delighted in the huge smile that appeared on Tohru's face as he made his promise to her. He knew that he would do anything it took to keep that promise. If it came to it, he would stand up to Akito and protect her from anything that Akito might try. Although, vowing that, he also knew, deep inside, that she was really the one who had already saved him.  
  
He snapped out of his thoughts as he realized that Tohru, who was still holding him, had stood up and was now collecting his clothes. "Um, what.?" he began.  
  
"Oh! I thought I would take you back up to your room, so that you could transform again with some privacy," Tohru answered the unfinished question with a blush as she thought about it.  
  
Kyo's cat form smiled. Tohru really was unbelievably cute. And now, she was his.  
  
Later that night, Tohru sat in her room with her mother's picture, "Hello, Mom! Did you see what Kyo gave me? We're going out on real date this weekend! My first one! I'm so happy, Mom! I really do feel like the luckiest girl in the world!" 


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: As much as I wish I owned Kyo, I don't. Neither do I own Fruits Basket or any of the other characters in it.  
  
A/N: It will be awhile before the next update. It will probably come some time around the 28th. But the story will continue, so keep an eye out for it around then.  
  
Roses of Glass  
  
Chapter 3  
  
Hana and Uo were sitting in Uo's apartment on Sunday afternoon, discussing the date that Tohru was currently on with Kyo. They knew that Tohru had been really nervous this morning, despite the fact that she had been living in the same house as Kyo for nearly a year now. But judging from the way Kyo had been acting around her lately, the figured everything would probably turn out fine.  
  
"It's so weird that Tohru finally chose between those two," Uo said, "To be honest, I kind of figured she would eventually choose the prince."  
  
"Oh? I've known for quite some time that she would likely end up with Kyo," Hana replied.  
  
"Seriously? I guess it does make a certain amount of sense though. I mean, between the two, I bet Kyoko would have liked Orange-top better. She would have been able to pick on him more."  
  
"Yes," Hana established, "I would have to agree with you on that point."  
  
Uo sighed, "And I guess as long as Tohru's happy, that's all that really matters, right?"  
  
"Right."  
  
Meanwhile, at the movie theatre, Kyo and Tohru were trying to figure out exactly which movie they wanted to see. It was actually quite amusing since they were both trying hard to please the other.  
  
"We could go see the martial arts movie. That's the one you want to see, right?" Tohru said to Kyo.  
  
"But I want this to be about you," Kyo replied, "So what do YOU want to see? That new chick flick?"  
  
Tohru shook her head, "No, I couldn't make you watch that, Kyo. I know you would hate it."  
  
After much discussion, it was finally agreed upon that they would see a comedy. It seemed like a good neutral ground, even if it was slight more to Tohru's taste than Kyo's. To be completely honest, though, neither of them really cared which movie they saw. Both were too caught up in the excitement of actually being on a real date together. Not even the argument over how to pay for the movie (Tohru wanted to pay for her ticket and candy, Kyo wouldn't let her seeing as it was a date and he wanted to treat her) could ruin the good mood both were in.  
  
Partway through the movie, Tohru moved to place her arm on the armrest of her seat. Kyo, however, already had his arm resting on said armrest, so Tohru's arm ended up resting on Kyo's arm. Startled, Kyo glanced down at their arms before lifting his eyes to meet Tohru's. He was pleasantly surprised when, instead of apologizing and pulling her arm away, she took his hand in her own. He snuck her a quick, shy smile and gave her hand a small squeeze to let her know he appreciated her gesture. She, in return, gave him a smile that made his insides melt. He was glad they were in a dark theatre because he could feel the color rising to his cheeks and while he was getting used to blushing in front of Tohru, a room full of strangers was a different story.  
  
They watched the rest of the movie hand in hand. Occasionally they would sneak glances at each other. Every time their eyes met, a smile would pass between them. As far as first dates go, this one rated pretty well.  
  
After the movie they walked home hand in hand. When they reached the house, Shigure greeted them, "Welcome home. How is the cute young couple? Did the date go well? You didn't do anything stupid now, did you, Kyo?"  
  
Kyo was about ready to smack Shigure, but the hand he was still holding squeezed his and Tohru answered cheerfully, "I had a wonderful time. Thank you for asking. It was a very nice day and Kyo was a perfect gentleman." She snuck a smile at Kyo, who immediately lost all the fight that had been in him.  
  
"Oh, by the way," Shigure added, "Yuki wanted to see you when you got home, Tohru. He's up in his room."  
  
Kyo glared as he heard this last bit. Tohru was his girlfriend now. He didn't want her spending time with Yuki. But even as he thought this, he knew that part of the reason he liked Tohru was that she was the type of person who wouldn't stop spending time with Yuki even now that she had chosen to turn him down. Sighing, he gave her a small nudge, "Go ahead. But if that damn rat tries anything, give me a call and I'll come kick his ass."  
  
Tohru's expression brightened and she nodded to Kyo before hurrying up the stairs towards Yuki's room. Unsure of what to expect, she knocked very timidly on Yuki's door.  
  
"Come in," Yuki's voice called from the other side.  
  
Tohru entered, "You wanted to see me?"  
  
"Yes," Yuki answered, "I just wanted to see how you date with Kyo went?"  
  
Tohru gulped, "It was really nice. And, and I'm sorry, Yuki. You don't have to force yourself to be nice about it. I would completely understand if you got mad at me or something."  
  
Yuki was taken aback. Then, suddenly, he started laughing, "That's not it at all, Miss Honda. I guess I kind of wanted to give you my blessings or something like that. You see, I realized a while ago that you were actually better off with Kyo. He needs you more than I do. Besides, you always did have a thing for the cat, didn't you?"  
  
Tohru nodded, her eyes filling with tears of happiness and relief, "Yes, ever since first time I heard the folktale. I always loved the cat. I never wanted the cat to feel lonely or left out again."  
  
Yuki suddenly jumped up, startling Tohru, "That's it!" It all made sense now. It just might work. But how to pull it off? Akito would never agree to it. He suddenly ran out of the room, yelling over his shoulder, "I'm sorry, Miss Honda. I just thought of something."  
  
Tohru was left alone in the room, wondering what exactly had just happened. That behavior wasn't like Yuki. She would have to ask him about it later. Right now, she needed to go start dinner. 


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket or any of the characters from it. If I did, this story would not be on FFN.  
  
A/N: Hello everyone. I'm back from my little vacation from my computer. Thanks to those of you who reviewed the last chapter and those of you who are back to read this chapter. And to answer a question I received: As you will find out in this chapter, Yuki has come up with a possible way to break the curse. But I won't tell you yet what it is.  
  
Roses of Glass  
  
Chapter 4  
  
Yuki ran into Shigure's study. He found his cousin working on the latest installment of his 'side project'. He walked over to the table and sat down opposite Shigure. Then he stated rather bluntly, "I think I may have figured out how to break the curse.  
  
Shigure's head flew up in interest, "Is that so?"  
  
Yuki nodded and moved to the other side of the table. He leaned over and whispered his thoughts to Shigure.  
  
"You want to do what?!" Shigure exclaimed, "First of all, Akito is not going to like that idea one bit. For another thing, you'd have a hard time pulling it off. And finally, what do you suggest Tohru do while you're doing all of this, if you manage to pull it off? I don't think she'd be content to just be a casual bystander this time."  
  
"Well," Yuki replied, "To start, I don't plan on telling Akito. I don't know yet how I'm going to pull it off. I'll probably need Miss Honda's help. And since she has to find out about the plan in order to help me, I think she might as well come along. I know it's risky, but if it works, she can be happy with Kyo."  
  
"I am impressed with how much you've grown up in the past year. I suppose I'm willing to help if I can," Shigure said.  
  
Kyo walked past Yuki's room on his way to his own. He peered inside to find Tohru rising up from her seat on the ground. Yuki was nowhere to be seen. He stood at the door and waited until she turned around and saw him before asking," Where's that damn rat?"  
  
With a confused look on her face, Tohru replied, "I don't know. He suddenly jumped up and ran off. He said he had just thought of something."  
  
"That's weird, even for him. What were you talking about?" Kyo asked.  
  
"You. Yuki told me that he realized I belonged with you. He's accepting us together."  
  
That surprised Kyo more than if she had told him that Yuki had sprouted a second head before her eyes and had run off in embarrassment. The last thing in the world he expected was for his lifelong rival to forfeit to him in what he considered to be their most important contest ever. Realizing that meant the only things that might stand in their way now were Akito and the curse, Kyo brightened. Tohru really wasn't bothered by the curse. And Akito for some reason seemed more open to Tohru than to most people. Maybe they actually had a chance to be a fairly normal couple, with the exception of the whole transforming into a cat thing.  
  
Looking down at Tohru, Kyo decided that he wanted to do something more for today. It was a special day, made even better by this added information. He knew just what to do, "Hey, Tohru, go grab a sweater or a jacket or something and meet me up on the roof."  
  
"Okay," Tohru answered before running off to her room.  
  
Kyo was already on the roof when Tohru arrived. He was actually facing the ladder this time, since her was expecting her. She made her way carefully over to where he sat and took a seat beside him.  
  
"Look out that way," Kyo instructed, pointing to the west.  
  
Tohru looked in the direction he had pointed. The sight was amazing. The sun was setting with such a fantastic display of colors that it seemed as if the entire sky was on fire. She sat silently for a moment, awestruck at the sight before her, and then she reached over and, for the second time that day, wrapped her hand around his own.  
  
Kyo wished that he could put his arm around her shoulders or that she could rest her head on his shoulder without him transforming. He let out a small sigh, realizing that might never be possible.  
  
Tohru caught the sigh and gave Kyo's hand a squeeze, "You know I'm really happy with you, right Kyo?"  
  
Kyo gave Tohru a sideways glance.  
  
Tohru nodded, "Yep! I'm happy to be able to hold your hand and spend time with you. I'm happy to be loved by you and to be able to love you in return. And I always will be. It might be hard sometimes. But as long as we stay by each other's sides, I know everything will be okay."  
  
"I want to believe that too," Kyo told her.  
  
"Then make up your mind to believe it."  
  
Kyo grinned then. It was hard to stay gloomy around Tohru. Sometimes he thought she was too optimistic for her own good. But it was the perfect balance for his moodiness. He watched as she went back to admiring the sunset.  
  
"This is so beautiful. Thank you for bringing me here, Kyo. It's absolutely perfect! Can we come up everyday and watch the sunset together? Because, you know, you never see the same sunset twice."  
  
Kyo actually let out a short laugh at that, "Well, not everyday. I don't think we'd be able to see a very good sunset if it is raining or snowing. But sure, we can come up on sunny days. As often as you want."  
  
Suddenly there was a commotion in the yard down below them. Creeping to the edge to look over, the found Momiji, Haru, Kisa, Hiro, and Hatori. Kyo tried to duck his head back and hide but he movement caught Momiji's attention. He looked up and saw Tohru, "Hey Tohru, how are you today? Is Kyo up there with you?"  
  
"Oh! Hello Momiji. I'm doing fine. What are you guys all doing here? And why isn't Kagura with you?" Tohru called back.  
  
Next to Tohru, Kyo tensed at the name of his former stalker.  
  
"Well," Momiji began, "Kagura wasn't sure she was ready to spend an evening with you and Kyo as a couple. But the rest of us came because Shigure called and invited us all over for dinner."  
  
This caused Tohru to leap up and lose her balance, nearly falling. Luckily, Kyo managed to reach out and catch her by the arms before she went off the roof, "What do you think you're doing?!"  
  
" I forgot dinner. And now everyone's here and there isn't anything to feed them," Tohru was going mildly hysterical.  
  
"Not to worry," Shigure's voice floated up, "I took the liberty of ordering takeout. I thought we could all have dinner together and hear about your date today."  
  
Kyo turned bright red, "What was that?!"  
  
"Nothing at all. Now come on down and have dinner."  
  
Tohru followed a pissed off Kyo off the roof and into the house. 


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not now, nor will I ever own Fruits Basket or any of the characters from it.  
  
A/N: Thanks to everyone who continues to review this story. I'm happy to be getting feedback from all of you. I'm also happy because I just got a new writing station set up at home. However, my computer at home no longer lets me load my chapters so if updates seem to be a little irregular, it's because I have to wait until I get free time on other computers before I can actually post my updates. It's a pain. But I'll try to get a new chapter up each week.  
  
Roses of Glass  
  
Chapter 5  
  
Everyone sat around the table eating a rare takeout dinner at Shigure's house. Everything had been going smoothly, considering everyone who was sharing the table. All actual questions about the date had been mild in manner and directed at Tohru. Kisa was managing to keep Hiro from being overly rude and Hatori was keeping Shigure in line.  
  
Then Momiji asked the wrong question, "So, Tohru, did you and Kyo kiss on your date?"  
  
Kyo jumped up from the table and ground his elbow into Momiji's head, "What kind of an idiot actually asks a question like that?!"  
  
"Wah! Kyo's hurting me!"  
  
"Kyo, please stop that and sit back down," Tohru began, "and Momiji, the answer to that question isn't really any of your business."  
  
That got everyone's attention. They all stared at Tohru. That wasn't the kind of response they would have expected from her. It got everyone at the table speculating as to whether the couple had actually kissed or not. This left Kyo and Tohru to sit next to each other with matching blushes on their faces.  
  
Then Hiro broke in, "Hey, we're out of tea. Go make some more." This was directed at Tohru and caused Kyo to shoot up from his spot once again.  
  
"Who do you think you are, you little brat. This isn't your house. Tohru isn't your maid. Stop ordering her around like that."  
  
Tohru tried to smooth things over, "It's okay, Kyo. I really don't mind."  
  
"It is not okay! Stop letting him boss you around."  
  
"Look," Hiro said, "your girlfriend's okay with it. Besides, she is the housekeeper, isn't she?"  
  
Kyo grabbed Hiro by the collar, "Now look here you little punk.." That was as far as he got.  
  
"What the hell is all this noise about?! I can't stand it! Is someone looking for a fight? Come on, I'll take on every last one of you," Haru had gone black.  
  
"Oh dear," sighed Shigure, "Please try not to destroy my house. Yuki, maybe you can get Haru to turn white again."  
  
"You know I can't do that. He'll change back when he's ready to."  
  
Meanwhile, Tohru was now stuck between Kyo, Haru, and Hiro. Kisa was pulling on Hiro's sleeve, trying to get him to back down. Momiji was in the corner, still rubbing his head and Hatori was calmly slipping away at the last of the tea that had started the whole fight. Yuki turned and was about to head upstairs when he heard Haru from behind him, "That's it. Now you're really going to get it."  
  
He turned back around in time to see Haru take a swing at Kyo. Tohru jumped in and shoved Kyo out of the way, landing on top of him. Haru, unable to stop the momentum from his punch, lost his balance and landed on top of Tohru. Now Kyo and Haru were both in their animal forms and Hiro was trying to console a now tearful Kisa. Yuki shook his head at the group.  
  
"Well," Shigure said to Hatori, "at least the fight ended without damage to my house."  
  
"And it is fortunate that Hatsuharu transformed into a standing position or Tohru would have been crushed underneath him."  
  
Momiji heard this and rushed over to Tohru, "Tohru, are you okay? Did you get hurt anywhere?"  
  
"I'm fine Momiji. Thank you for asking though," she replied, "Could you take Haru and his clothes into the other room so he can change back?"  
  
After Momiji followed her instructions, Tohru once again gathered up the cat and his clothes to take them back up to his room. On the way there she asked, "Are you okay, Kyo? I'm really sorry I landed on you. I hope I didn't hurt you."  
  
"I'm okay. At least Haru transformed standing up. If his cow form landed on us, that could have hurt."  
  
Tohru stared at him for a moment. After a moment, it was too much for him, "What?!"  
  
"Well, it's just," Tohru stammered, "that's the first time I've ever heard you admit that something could really physically hurt you. You usually act like you're invincible. It makes me kind of happy that you let me see another side of you. Every time I see a side of you that you usually hide, it makes me feel special and important."  
  
Tohru missed the look on Kyo's face as she set him down and turned to leave the room. Had she been looking, she would have seen a rare, tender expression to tell her how important she was. She was unbothered by the lack of response she saw from him. She had learned to read him and his silence was enough. So she left him to transform.  
  
Heading back towards the rest of the group, Tohru was stopped at the head of the stairs by Yuki, "Miss Honda, I'm sorry that I ran off so suddenly earlier. I need to speak to you again. Then, maybe you will understand why I left so suddenly before."  
  
"Oh, okay then," Tohru said as she followed Yuki towards his room for the second time that day. 


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket or any of the characters.  
  
A/N: Sorry it's been awhile. But I'm back now with chapter six. I hope you all enjoy it. I actually started this chapter a few weeks ago and interestingly enough, the weather around my house seems to be reflecting the weather in the story for the same time of year. I just thought that was kind of funny.  
  
Roses of Glass  
  
Chapter 6  
  
Weeks passed. Things were going well for Kyo and Tohru, as well as with Yuki's plan. Despite the fact that Kyo was still clueless about the plan's existence, he was learning not to worry as much about the future of his relationship with Tohru. She was so endlessly optimistic that she wouldn't let him stay gloomy. Not to mention Akito hadn't tried anything despite the fact that it would be impossible for him to not know about their relationship by now. Even Kagura had finally come around to accepting them as a couple. She had visited a couple of times and seemed to have relinquished her claim on Kyo, even if it was somewhat grudgingly.  
  
It was now late November and the air was getting chilly although the sun was still out most days. On this particular day, Kyo and Tohru were walking home from school together while Yuki was staying late for a student council meeting. The walked hand in hand, with Tohru shuffling her feet in the fallen leaves and chattering away cheerfully, "I'm so glad I've got the day off work today. Not that I really mind work, it's just that when I have to work, I don't get to walk home from school with you or sit on the roof and watch the sunset. But with the sun setting earlier and earlier, I guess we won't be able to do that for much longer anyway."  
  
"The weather will probably change soon, too," Kyo agreed.  
  
Tohru glanced at the sky, "Do you think it will snow this year? If it does, we can watch the snowfall together. That's as good as watching the sunset. Oh! Or does snow bother you like rain does? If it does, then I guess you wouldn't really want to sit and watch the snowfall, would you?"  
  
"No, no," Kyo interrupted, "The snow doesn't bother me like the rain. Actually, I kinda like the snow." (A/N: I realized after I wrote this how funny that it since the Japanese word for snow is yuki. I didn't think about that ahead of time.)  
  
"Really? I didn't know that. I just learned something new about you. I'm so happy."  
  
"Well, I did live in the mountains for awhile. It may not be much, but there is a bit more snow up there than here. Maybe I'm just kind of used to it or something," he replied, trying to hide the fact that he was pleased by her enthusiasm, "Maybe we could all go to Hokkaido this winter. We could take a ski trip. Like for Christmas or something."  
  
A flustered Tohru answered, "Oh, no. I couldn't possibly. You guys have already taken me to the hot springs and the lake. If you took me on a ski trip, too I'd feel like I was taking advantage of all of you."  
  
"Don't be stupid. We invite you on all these trips because we want to take you. We want to go all these places with you. And it's really not much. It's not like we're traveling around the world or anything," Kyo told her.  
  
"Well, if you're sure.."  
  
"Good," Kyo cut her off, "I'll talk to Shigure about it later. I'm sure he'll be okay with it. So, that takes care of Christmas, what do you want to do for New Year's?"  
  
"Um, aren't you going to the main house with Shigure and Yuki?" asked Tohru.  
  
"Yeah right. Last year, we almost left you alone. I'm not going to do that again this year. I'm going to stay with you. So what do you want to do?"  
  
"Well, actually," Tohru started, "I was invited to the Sohma main house this year as well. But I guess I'll only go if you do. But I think it would be fun to spend the holiday with everyone. I've never been to a big New Year's celebration before. Last year, with you and Yuki was the biggest New Year's I've ever had. Before that it was always just Mom and me. But if you don't want to go, I'll understand."  
  
Kyo stared at Tohru in surprise. That was the first he had heard about her being invited to join the Sohma New Year's celebration. It either meant that their relationship had been accepted and approved or that Akito was planning something. Kyo had an uneasy feeling about the whole situation. He wished somebody had told him sooner. It left him with a difficult decision to make. On the one hand, he didn't want to risk anything happening to Tohru if it ended up being a trap. On the other hand, Tohru seemed so excited about the prospect of going that he didn't really want to tell her they weren't going to go. He took a deep breath as he made his decision.  
  
"Do you really want to go?" he asked.  
  
Tohru looked at him with her eyes sparkling and gave him a sheepish grin as she nodded her answer.  
  
"Fine, we'll go to the main house for New Year's. But I want you to be promise me that you'll be careful, especially around Akito," Kyo had made up his mind. He couldn't disappoint Tohru. He would just have to keep an extra close eye on her during their stay at the main house.  
  
By this time they had reached Shigure's house. Both went inside to drop off their bags and change into warmer clothes before heading up to the roof. This time Tohru beat Kyo. When he arrived, he found her huddled up for warmth.  
  
She turned to face him and smiled, "It's colder than I expected."  
  
"Here, put this on," Kyo said, handing her the extra jacket he had brought, knowing she wouldn't dress warmly enough. Then he pulled out a blanket and gave it to her. She grabbed his hand to pull him down next to her and wrapped the blanket around both their shoulders.  
  
So, they sat, wrapped together, watching the sunset as clouds moved in above them. The sun dipped below the horizon and the pair got up to leave. As they reached the ladder, something wet hit Tohru on the nose. She looked up.  
  
"Kyo, look! It stared snowing! Already. I can't believe it. This is so perfect. An sunset and a snowfall," with that she turned and kissed him on the cheek before turning back to the ladder and climbing down. She left Kyo standing on the roof, watching after her with his hand on his cheek and a dazed grin on his face. 


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Lina Li does not own Fruits Basket or any of the characters in it. But she does own this fanfic.  
  
A/N: I'm really sorry I've been taking so long between updates lately. Things have been kind of crazy around here. I will continue to work on this story though so I hope you all continue to read it.  
  
Roses of Glass  
  
Chapter 7  
  
"Man, I hate finals," Uo announced.  
  
"Yes. But finals are almost over," was the reply from Hana.  
  
Tohru joined in, "And then we get our winter vacation. I can hardly wait. It's going to be so much fun."  
  
"What are you doing over vacation this year?" asked Hana.  
  
"Oh, well we're all going on a ski trip. Shigure is taking Yuki, Kyo, and me to Hokkaido. I'm really excited. I've never been to Hokkaido before. We're probably going to spend Christmas there. Then, when we get back, we're going to the Sohma main house for New Year's."  
  
Hana and Uo stared at their friend. They hadn't expected to find Tohru doing so much over the holidays. She had definitely changed over the past couple of years. She had always spent the holidays at home with Kyoko. And last year she had nearly spent New Year's alone. It was her plans for New Years that surprised the two of them the most.  
  
"Wait a minute," Uo said, "You're going to spend New Year's at the Sohma main house? With the entire Sohma family?"  
  
Tohru grinned and nodded cheerfully in response.  
  
Hana gave Tohru a questioning gland and asked in an unusual tone, "So, just how close are you and Kyo then? It seems to me it must be getting pretty serious if you're going with him to visit the other Sohmas this year."  
  
Tohru blushed in response, "I'm not going with just him, you know. Yuki and Shigure are going as well. But, well.."  
  
Tohru broke off before she said something that might reveal the secret of the Sohma curse. However, her ambiguous answer left her friends to speculate as to exactly how serious her relationship with Kyo might be. Tohru, who had usually been extremely open with them, kept any details abut her relationship with Kyo to herself. This led her friends to believe there were many secrets going on in the relationship. Tohru's own intentions about keeping quiet were to protect Kyo and the other Sohmas and to be sure she was allowed to keep her own memories. Her friends, however, couldn't help but wonder if her silence meant something different.  
  
"Well, anyway, what are you planning on getting Orange-top for a Christmas present?"  
  
Tohru squeaked, "Christmas present? Oh my gosh! I can't believe I haven't thought of that yet. I don't know what to get him for Christmas. I've never had a boyfriend before. How am I supposed to know what kind of present to get?"  
  
"Calm down, Tohru," Hana commanded, "There's still some time before Christmas. And Uo and I can help you. We'll all go shopping together. Think about the kind of person Kyo is and I'm sure you'll come up with the perfect gift. After all, you seem to know him better than anyone. And I have a feeling that he will like just about anything you give him."  
  
"Besides," added Uo, "I would be more worried about what he's going to get for you. That boy doesn't strike me as the type to understand the thoughtfulness and romance that is supposed to go into a gift for a girlfriend."  
  
"That's not true. I know her might come across that way, but Kyo actually puts a lot of thought into gift giving. He knows exactly what to get for people. At the very least, everything he's give me has been good, " Tohru blurted out.  
  
As she realized what she had said, Tohru clapped a hand over her mouth. She hadn't previously told her friends about any of the gifts Kyo had gotten for her since they had become a couple. She hadn't meant to bring it up now, either. She didn't want to embarrass Kyo. But she had slipped and now Uo and Hana were jabbing her with their elbows and asking questions, trying to get more information. She grudgingly began to tell them about the couple of small thing that he had presented to her. It wasn't a long list but as she completed, Tohru noticed that Uo and Hana were staring at her in shock. It was obvious that they were having a hard time connecting such thoughtful and romantic gestures with the boy they knew from school.  
  
"And so," Tohru added, "I have to get him something really special, because I know he'll get me something wonderful."  
  
Uo and Hana nodded and the three girls continued on in quiet thought toward the lunchroom, all three now with their minds on Tohru's gift for Kyo.  
  
Kyo at that particular moment was sitting by the window in an empty classroom on the top floor of the school building. He would have preferred to be on the roof since that was where he was most comfortable with his thoughts. The weather, however, had decided to turn against him in its attempt to decide between rain and snow. Kyo's thoughts were also on Christmas presents, though he was not worried about what he would get for Tohru. That was already taken care of. He pulled the small package out of his bag.  
  
No, he wasn't worried about finding a gift. He was slightly worried about what Tohru's reaction to the gift would be. Knowing her, she would try to tell him that it was too much; that it was more than she deserved. And feeling she didn't deserve it, she would try to give it back to him. That was what Kyo feared would happen. But he felt the gift was of special importance, more because of the meaning behind it than because of the actual gift itself. And he wanted more than anything for Tohru to get this. He wanted more than that, if he was going to be honest, he wanted to know that she would want this gift, knowing the meaning behind it. He hope she would let him explain the why he had chosen this gift before she tried to reject it. His fear was that Tohru would not understand. That was the thought that kept Kyo brooding in the window. He gave a sigh.  
  
"Oh, there you are."  
  
Kyo jumped at the voice. He had been so caught up in his thoughts that he hadn't realized that someone had been coming.  
  
"I didn't see you in the lunch room so I got a little worried," Tohru informed him with a smile, "Will you come now and join me for lunch?"  
  
Pushing his thoughts a side for now, Kyo stood and took Tohru's offered hand. Together the couple walked off to join their friends. Kyo glanced down at their joined hands and decided not to worry about the gift. If anyone would understand what he was giving, it would probably be Tohru. With that, returned the smile she offered him as the entered the lunchroom. 


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Fruits Basket and all character that appear in it belong to Takaya Natsuki, not to me.  
  
A/N: Hi everyone. Here is chapter eight of my story. It's getting to the point where the end is coming into sight. There will be at least three more chapters though, maybe more depending on what kind of tangents my brain decides to go off on. Anyway, here is the new chapter. I hope you like it.  
  
Roses of Glass  
  
Chapter 8  
  
"Bye. I'm going out shopping with Uo and Hana now," Tohru called, "I'll be back in a little while."  
  
To be completely honest, Tohru was a little worried. She and the Sohmas were leaving on the ski trip the day after tomorrow and she still hadn't bought a gift for Kyo. In fact, she still had no clue what to get him. She knew that he had already gotten a gift for her. If the fact that he hadn't let her help him wrap his presents wasn't enough of a hint, she had asked Yuki to find out. Yuki had come back and told her that while he didn't want to say it, Kyo had indeed already gotten her a gift, a really nice one. Yuki had then offered to lend her some money to do the rest of her shopping with, but Tohru had been saving up for Christmas shopping for quite a while. But that didn't bring her any closer to having the right present for Kyo yet.  
  
"Hey, Tohru, are you okay?" Uo asked, "You look like you've got something heavy duty on your mind."  
  
"Yes. And you've been awfully quiet," Hana added.  
  
Tohru looked up to answer and noticed that while she had been thinking, she and her friends had already reached the mall, "Yeah, I'm okay. I just want to make sure I get the perfect gift for Kyo. Yuki told me that Kyo got me something really nice. So I want to get something really nice for him, too."  
  
"Maybe you could get him a nice sweater or something," suggested Uo.  
  
"Oh, no," Hana commented, "that wouldn't do. A sweater is a very generic gift. Tohru wants to make sure her gift to Tohru is completely unique, don't you Tohru?"  
  
Tohru started to nod and then stopped as a thought crossed her mind, "How unique are you talking about, Hana?"  
  
Uo laughed at that, "Man, that Orange-top is sure rubbing off on you. That totally sounded like a question he would ask, not you. Exactly how much time have you two been spending together lately?"  
  
"Well, they do live together," Hana answered.  
  
"Hana, you make it sound so scandalous. Our little Tohru wouldn't be involved in something as dirty as it sounds like you're suggesting," Uo said, feigning shock.  
  
"Are you saying that if you had a boyfriend who lived in the same house as you that you'd keep your hands off him?"  
  
Uo laughed again, "I guess I see your point."  
  
By this point Tohru was blushing uncontrollably. Maybe bringing her friends along hadn't been such a great idea. They certainly weren't being much help at the moment. If anything, they were slowing down her search. And they were embarrassing her on top of it. The whole thing was almost enough to make her go hysterical. But her determination to find her gift for Kyo prevented her from doing so. It was her driving force today and nothing was going to stop her until she had achieved her goal. Finally she grabbed the other girls, each with one hand and dragged them through the mall.  
  
As they passed the pet store, Uo said, "Hey, do you remember that time at school when Orange-top had all those cats with him? Maybe you should get him a kitten."  
  
Tohru gulped, "I don't think that's such a good idea."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Well," Tohru replied, "Because of Yuki. He, um, he's allergic to cats. Yeah. So, um, we can't get any pet cats."  
  
"What about the cat that was at the house that time we came over?" asked Hana.  
  
"Oh, that. That was a stray. He just somehow managed to get in the house," Tohru winced. She hated lying to her friends. Even more, she hated the idea of calling Kyo a stray. But she couldn't very well tell her friends about the curse. She just hoped that if Kyo were to know what she had just said that he would understand.  
  
"Hmm. And you already have a dog, right?" Uo continued.  
  
"What? Oh, right, Spot. Yeah, we've already got Spot," Tohru answered.  
  
"Well, I guess pets are kind of out then."  
  
Tohru gave a sigh of relief. The sooner they got away form that pet store, the soon she could relax and stop lying.  
  
In the middle of her de-stressing period, she almost walked right past it. But she noticed at the last second and stopped abruptly in front of the shop, staring first up at the sign and then inside. Her friends turned towards her in surprise.  
  
"Um, Tohru.." Uo began.  
  
"This is it. I've got it. That's perfect," Tohru said pointing into the window.  
  
"Really?" asked Hana.  
  
"Yeah. That's it. But I have to stoop somewhere else first. Oh! I'm so happy now. I can't wait. Kyo is going to love this."  
  
Uo glanced in the window, "Yeah, I imagine he will." 


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: As my name is not Takaya Natsuki, I do not own Fruits Basket or any of the characters in it.  
  
A/N: I've been having a terrible time trying to get this chapter up. First I realized that I didn't like my original idea for Tohru's gift for Kyo, so I decided that since so many of you were interested in that, that I wanted to hear some of your suggestions. After I decided that, my computer broke again. Then I broke my finger, which made it near impossible to type. But I'm back with chapter nine. Also in regards to the dog's name which I should have clarified in the last chapter. The name is translated to Spot in English. I decided that since my fic is entirely English, that I would use the English name. Also I did some research on ski resorts in Hokkaido. The place that the group is staying is loosely based on an actual inn.  
  
Roses of Glass  
  
Chapter 9  
  
"Next stop, Hirafu Station. Hirafu Station, next stop."  
  
"Oh I can't believe it. We're almost there!" Tohru exclaimed cheerfully.  
  
"Finally," Kyo added.  
  
Tohru turned to Shigure, "Tell me about the place we're staying."  
  
"Well, if you insist. It's a western style inn with western rooms and food. There are Jacuzzis and spas in some of the rooms. It's really close to some of the ski lifts. It's supposed to be a great place to stay. And it's something a bit different from and of the Sohmas' various resorts. It was described as being something of a luxurious farmhouse style inn. And someone from the inn will be picking us up from the station."  
  
"Now arriving at Hirafu Station, Hirafu Station."  
  
Tohru grabbed Kyo's hand, partially from her excitement at reaching their destination and partially to avoid being separated from the others. When they had successfully made it off the train and regrouped with Yuki and Shigure, the four of them went off in search of the person sent by the inn. It turned out to be a man, probably in his mid-twenties, who greeted the group and ushered them outside. Between the time they had gotten off the train and the time they left the station, a light snow had begun to fall, adding to the effect of the already snow-covered landscape.  
  
"Oh!" Tohru exclaimed, "It's so beautiful. I can't believe we get to spend Christmas here, too. It's going to be so amazing!"  
  
The others smiled at Tohru's enthusiasm and Kyo gave her hand a quick squeeze.  
  
The trip to the inn was short. When they arrived, the three younger members of the group all stared in awe. It certainly was different from any of the Sohma property. While the Sohmas kept high quality, luxurious estates, they all had a Japanese flair. This inn was thoroughly western and extremely elegant.  
  
"Here are your rooms," said the hotel worker Shigure had been talking to, "Two rooms, each with two double beds."  
  
"Wait a minute, does that mean two of us guys have to share a bed?!" Kyo demanded.  
  
"Of course not," Shigure said, allowing Kyo to relax, "You're sharing a room with Tohru."  
  
Kyo turned bright red at that, but was actually left speechless. Tohru giggled at his expression as she dragged him off before his senses returned, "It's okay, Kyo. There are two beds. Besides, you've slept in my room before."  
  
Kyo sputtered, "B-but that was different. I was a cat then."  
  
"Well, if it makes you feel better, I can turn you into a cat every night," Tohru said with a confused look on her face.  
  
"Listen," Kyo replied, "I just don't really think it's a good idea for us to share a room."  
  
"Would you rather share a bed with Yuki or Shigure?" Tohru asked him.  
  
"No!"  
  
"Well, then, would you rather one of them stayed with me?"  
  
"Hell no!" Kyo almost growled in response to that suggestion.  
  
Tohru flashed him one of her brightest smiles, "Then you really don't have much of a choice. Besides, I don't see anything wrong with it."  
  
Kyo gave Tohru an incredulous look. She could be so naïve and innocent sometimes that it hurt. He himself realized all the implications of sharing a hotel room with his girl friend. But then there was the curse. That would kind of get in the way of anything really happening. With that thought, he shrugged and let Tohru continue to drag him off towards the room.  
  
Meanwhile, back in the lobby, Yuki was busy glaring at Shigure, giving the impression that if he could shoot laser beams out of his eyes, he would be doing so now. He may have given up his claim on Tohru, but having her room with Kyo in a wintry wonderland of a vacation wasn't exactly making him happy. Finally, he turned and stormed off towards the room he was sharing with Shigure.  
  
Once Shigure was sure Yuki was out of earshot, he let out a breath he'd been holding and sighed, "That was scary."  
  
By this time, Tohru and Kyo had reached their room. Tohru was excitedly making plans for what to do on the trip when Kyo opened the door. She stopped in the middle of her sentence as she looked into the room. She sucked in her breath as she turned to look at Kyo. He had gone bright red. Tohru gave a tentative smile, "Well, at least the room is really nice. It's so pretty."  
  
She walked over to the window, "And look at the wonderful view."  
  
Tohru was rambling, trying to keep Kyo from exploding. It didn't really work. From behind her, she heard him mutter, "I'm going to kill Shigure."  
  
Tohru helplessly glanced between Kyo and the cause of his anger. The lone double bed in the room. 


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket or any of the characters from that series.  
  
A/N: I'm back. I've had a string of computer problems to get past. But I'm trying to make up for it. I've got chapters 11 and 12 done, too. I hope you like it.  
  
Roses of Glass  
Chapter 10  
  
Kyo turned to charge out of the room and murder Shigure. Tohru, however, thought that despite the awkward situation he had placed them in, it might not be the best idea to kill the man who was paying for the trip. She stepped in front of the door, blocking Kyo's path.  
  
"Get out of the way, Tohru," Kyo said, trying not to snap at her.  
  
Tohru shook her head and replied, "I won't. First of all, you going after Shigure won't change anything if he did this on purpose, which you don't even know he did."  
  
"Oh, he did," Kyo retorted.  
  
"And second," continued Tohru, "it's not really that bad. If it bothers you that much, I can sleep on the floor."  
  
"Like hell you can! You think I'm gonna let you sleep on the floor while I take the bed? No way! If anyone sleeps on the floor, it's gonna be me."  
  
"But I don't want you to have to sleep on the floor, either. There aren't even any bedrolls. I guess maybe we could share the bed," replied Tohru, "Or, if you want to try and change rooms, we could go calmly talk to Shigure about it."  
  
Just then, there was a knock on the door. It was, of course, Shigure, whose timing was as impeccable as ever. Before he could say a word, Tohru explained the situation, "Um, I'm glad you can by. There seems to be some sort of mistake. This room only seems to have one bed."  
  
"Yes, well, about that," Shigure began, "I just had the hotel manager call to inform me of this. Apparently there aren't any other rooms with two beds available. So, you're just going to have to make due for now."  
  
Tohru stared after Shigure as he left. Did he really think that was going to work? Couldn't he see how mad Kyo was about the whole thing? Turning, Tohru could see for herself exactly how angry he was. She could also see the amount of effort he was putting forth to contain himself. She decided that it might be best to get him out of the room for a while, "Um, do you want to go out and take a look around. A little time in the fresh air might be exactly what we need to help us sort through this. We can go down to on of the centers (A/N: The centers would be Niseko Outdoor Center and Niseko Adventure Center, which organize a lot of outdoor activities in that area) or we could just walk around."  
  
Kyo stared blankly at her for a minute before letting out something between a 'hmph' and a laugh, "You're amazing, you know that. You just don't let things bother you. I guess you're right though. Maybe some time outside, away form this room would be a good idea. We can decide what to do about this situation later."  
  
Tohru nodded and turned to head out the door that instant.  
  
"What do you think you're doing?" Kyo asked, "If we're gonna be outside for a while, you need to put something warmer on or you're going to freeze."  
  
Tohru looked down at herself, "Oh, yeah. I guess you're right."  
  
"What am I going to do with you?" Kyo chuckled.  
  
Tohru smiled. The hadn't even left yet, but Kyo already seemed to be in a better mood. She was glad. He was much easier to be around this way.  
  
Once the were both bundled up for the weather, they left the hotel. The opted to just walk around in the snow by themselves, rather than see what activities the centers had organized. Kyo had said he didn't really want to be stuck with a big group of people that he didn't know. Tohru understood. It didn't fit Kyo's personality, but more than that, it would increase the chances of him being transformed if there was a large group of people. So they walked through the snow, their gloved hands intertwined. Neither paid attention to the passage of time. They were content to be in the peaceful outdoors with only each other. It had been quite sometime when Kyo noticed Tohru shiver.  
  
"Are you getting cold? We can go back."  
  
Tohru shook her head, "I'm okay, if you want to stay out here."  
  
"Liar," Kyo said, looking at Tohru, "Your lips are turning blue. If you were cold you could have said something."  
  
"But it was so peaceful and you seemed to be happy out here," she replied.  
  
"So you were just going to stay out her until you made yourself sick?" he demanded.  
  
Tohru gave him a sheepish look and Kyo sighed, "Come on. Let's get back to the hotel. There's a fireplace in the lounge area. We can go sit by the fire and warm up. Maybe I should get you some hot chocolate or something, too."  
  
Tohru didn't have time to reply because Kyo was already practically dragging her back to the hotel. She let herself smile at his back. He may try to hide it, but Kyo really did have it in him to be thoughtful and caring when the situation called for it.  
  
After an evening spent by the fire and a wonderful dinner, both returned to the room in a better mood than they had left it. Still, Tohru was apprehensive in asking her question, "So, what are we going to do about the sleeping arrangements?"  
  
To her surprise, rather than getting angry, Kyo blushed, "Well, I guess we could try sharing the bed...if that's okay with you, I mean."  
  
He had added the last part hastily and once again Tohru smiled. Kyo could be so cute when he was nervous, "What if you turn into a cat?"  
  
He shrugged, "Then I guess it wouldn't be too different from back home."  
  
And so, they settled in for the night, side by side. 


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: Neither Fruits Basket, or any of the characters belong to me.  
  
A/N: I uploaded chapter 10 today, too. So if you haven't read that yet, please go back and do so. This chapter will make more sense if you do. Also, for those of you who are thinking that the rating of the story is about to go up, it's not. I want to keep it at least somewhat innocent.  
  
Roses of Glass  
Chapter 11  
  
It took both Tohru and Kyo a long time to fall asleep that night, despite the fatigue of travel that hung over them. Tohru lay motionless and tense on her side of the bed, worried that she might unintentionally turn Kyo into his cat form. While he had said that would be okay, for some reason, she was worried that it would bother him to wake up and find himself transformed.  
  
Kyo, for his part was wondering if maybe it would have been better if he had had Tohru transform him before they had gone to bed. Because, his reason for being awake was very different from Tohru's. It was one thing to sleep next to Tohru on her bed in his cat form. It was an entirely different matter in his human form. He was, after all, a teenage male and she was, after all, the girl he was in love with. Now, it was not fear of being transformed that kept Kyo awake, but the strongest test of will power he had ever faced. The realization that he would be turned into a cat if he tried anything was what was keeping him in check.  
  
Eventually, in the early morning hours, fatigue won out and the couple fell asleep. Both had made themselves so tired that it was quite lat in the morning before either of them showed any sign of stirring. Tohru awakened first. She woke slowly, with a hazy, comfortable feeling. It made her want to stay in the warmth and comfort of the bed all day. But something was strange. As she came to the realization of what it was, her eyes flew wide open. She was looking at the face of the still sleeping Kyo. It was mere inches from her own. But what had woken her so suddenly was the fact that his arm was around her waist. She blinked, but nothing changed. Kyo was holding her and he was still in human form.  
  
Somewhat startled, she grabbed Kyo's shoulder and started to shake him, while calling his name. He mumbled something sleepily then slowly opened his eyes to the shocked expression on Tohru's face.  
  
"Tohru, wha....?" He began before noticing exactly what she had. He shot up into a sitting position so fast that he lost his balance and nearly fell off the bed. Regaining some of his composure, he turned to Tohru and asked, "What's going on? How come I'm not a cat? I should have turned into a cat."  
  
"I-I don't know. I'm as surprised as you are. That's just how you were when I woke up," replied the wide-eyed Tohru.  
  
"D-do you think the curse is broken?" Kyo asked, trying not to sound too hopeful.  
  
Tohru still caught the note of hope in his question and closed her eyes. She didn't want to disappoint him, but she was fairly sure then curse was intact. But the fact remained that Kyo had not transformed. So she answered quietly, "I don't know, Kyo."  
  
Before she realized what he was doing, Kyo had jumped off the bed and run over to her side. He grabbed her wrists, saying, "I guess there's on way to find out," before pulling her off the bed and into his embrace.  
  
POOF!  
  
As Tohru had feared, the curse was still in place and Kyo transformed into a now agitated cat.  
  
"What the hell is going on here?" he shouted.  
  
With tears in her eyes, Tohru answered, "I'm sorry. I don't know. Maybe we could ask Shigure if he knows. Maybe he can tell us something. After all, he has lived with the curse longer than you have."  
  
Kyo grumbled something but reluctantly agreed. It was better than not doing anything and he couldn't think of anything else to try. And he really did want to know what was going on. A glance at Tohru told him that she wanted to know just as much as he did.  
  
So once Kyo had returned to his human state, and he and Tohru were dressed for the day, they went off in search of Shigure. They had only been looking for a few minutes when they came across Yuki down by he fireplace they had been sitting at the evening before.  
  
"Oh, Yuki!" Tohru exclaimed as she ran over towards him, "Do you know where Shigure is? It's really important."  
  
The tone of her voice and the look on here face caught Yuki's attention, "Why? What happened?"  
  
"That's what we want to know," Kyo answered, coming up behind Tohru.  
  
Between the two of them, Kyo and Tohru explained what had happened, the best they could, to Yuki. When they finished, Yuki looked just as bewildered as the other two felt but managed to keep his voice calm as he spoke, "That's odd. I don't know how that could happen, either. But Shigure is just outside. Let's go see if he knows anything."  
  
The three indeed found Shigure just outside the building. It appeared he had been headed towards the slopes but had his attention diverted by a group of female skiers.  
  
Yuki rolled his eyes and stormed over to Shigure. He whispered to Shigure about the situation. Shigure brought his head up to look over at Kyo and Tohru. After giving some excuse to the girls, he followed Yuki over to where the couple stood.  
  
"Well, well," he said, "I guess I have so explaining to do, don' I? Com on inside and I'll tell you what I can. 


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: As much as I might like to, I do not own Fruits Basket or the characters, although I do have a Kyo plushie.  
  
A/N: First off, I posted chapters 10 and 11 today, too. This chapter will make a lot more sense if you read those first, so please do so if you haven't. This is now officially the longest fic I have written. And it's still got a bit left. So, I hope you all enjoy and continue to read.  
  
Roses of Glass  
Chapter 12  
  
Shigure lead the group back to the room he and Yuki were sharing. Once everyone was comfortably seated, he began his explanation, "I suppose I should start by informing you that curses are never truly without loopholes. That applies to the Sohma curse as well. While the curse has not been broken, there are instances where the zodiac members have seen the curse...temporarily put on hold, let's say. Now I'll give you an example. You might remember that Kazuma's grandfather was the cat of his generation. Yet to be a grandparent, he had to first be a parent. Being the age you all are I'm sure you know how that comes about. But Kazuma's grandfather is not the only cursed member to have children, either. So, how exactly do you think that happens?"  
  
The other three all exchanged glances. It was Yuki who eventually answered, "Well, I guess I never really thought about it. But if I had to guess, I would say that both parents were zodiac members."  
  
"Granted that is the case sometimes," Shigure continued, "But think about this currently there are 10 cursed males in the family and 3 cursed females. In some generations it has been reversed, in others all the members have been male, or all were female, with the exception of the cat, which has always been male. The other thing about curses is they don't allow themselves to be destroyed. There always had to be 13 cursed members of the Sohma family. And for the family to continue, the Sohma's and the curse could not always count on the zodiac member to propagate with each other. And yet, the family continues to grow today. So, how do you explain that?"  
  
Once again, the three younger people looked to each other for answers. This time, it was Tohru who spoke, "The loophole?"  
  
"Bingo. The curse has always made allowances; because what good would the curse be if there were no more Sohmas. That is why the loophole was created. While, in general, the zodiac members cannot hug or be hugged my con-cursed members of the opposite sex, if the two people were to share a bed, they might be able to touch however they wanted as long as they remained in that bed. This does not work with just any couple though. They have to have a strong sense or vow of commitment to each other."  
  
Kyo and Tohru were blushing furiously at this point at the implications of what Shigure had just told them. Yuki's eyes clouded over for a moment for although he had given up on Tohru and knew already that they had shared a bed the previous night, the none to subtle implications by Shigure didn't exactly make him feel better about the idea.  
  
"B-but," stammered Tohru, "we didn't do anything. I mean, we just slept."  
  
"But you did share a bed, didn't you?" affirmed Shigure, "That's all you really need to do, if you have that commitment."  
  
Now it was Kyo's turn to speak, "Um, we've shared a bed before, though, and this is the first time this has happened."  
  
Yuki gave them a disgusted look as Shigure raised and eyebrow and said, "Oh, really? That's very interesting. Well, I could guess why it never happened before."  
  
A look of understanding passed over Tohru's face, "Because I always transformed Kyo before getting into bed."  
  
Then it seemed that Kyo suddenly realized something as he turned back to Shigure and said, through gritted teeth, "Wait a minute. You mean to tell me you knew that all along this would happen? That's why you put us in that room? You did that on purpose?"  
  
"Not at all, not at all," Shigure replied, "Okay, well, I did put you in that room on purpose, but I didn't know for sure that this would happen. I had no idea you two would actually get up the nerve to share a bed. Then again, I had no idea that you two had shared a bed before, even if Kyo was in cat form. Ha! Ha!"  
  
That upset Kyo even more. However, instead of blowing up at Shigure like Tohru feared he might, he merely stood up and stormed out of the room. She stood up and excused herself to Shigure and Yuki before chasing after Kyo. She followed him back to the room they shared.  
  
When she opened the door to the room, she found him already lying on his side, on the bed, with his back towards the door. She moved around to stand in front of him. As she expected, he was staring moodily out the window. She sat down by his knees. They sat in silence for a short while. Tohru knew that if she gave him the chance, Kyo would start talking without prodding.  
  
After what seemed like an eternity, he said, "Why would Shigure do that? It was a horrible thing to do."  
  
Tohru glanced at him in surprise, but he refused to look back at her.  
  
He continued, "I mean, I might be a cursed Sohma, but I'm still human. I still have desires and needs. Putting us in here together, without telling me about what would happen, it just makes me so.... Last night was torture. But, at the same time, I wouldn't trade it. But I'm still so angry. And something else; I don't know."  
  
Kyo felt Tohru get up and heard her footsteps. He thought what he said might offended or disgusted, or maybe even scared her. He closed his eyes, now angry at himself for driving her away. His eyes flew open again a moment later as her felt her lay down behind him and wrap her arms around him.  
  
He opened his mouth to say something but, before he got a chance, she spoke quietly into his ear, "Ssh. You don't need to say anything else. For now, while I can, just let me hold you. It will be alright."  
  
Kyo shut his eyes again as he felt them fill with tears. 


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I do not now, nor will I ever own Fruits Basket or the characters from it.

A/N: Hey everyone. I'm back from Japan. I'm sorry it's been awhile but I couldn't update from the computer I had in Japan (the note was actually written by my brother). This chapter is not really a happy one but I promise things get better in chapter 14.

Roses of Glass Chapter 13 

It was close to an hour before Kyo and Tohru moved. Even then, neither really wanted to. For Kyo, the experience of being held and comforted was something he had been so deprived of that he didn't want to lose it now that it came to him. And Tohru was happy to finally be able to be, more actively, there for Kyo.

But, as much as they would like it to, time did not stand still for them. As time passed, both became aware of the fact that neither of them had eaten anything that day. When Tohru's stomach began to growl, they finally decided to go grab some food. They decided against eating at the hotel restaurant, because that was where Shigure was likely to be and Kyo didn't really want to run into him.

When they had finished eating, Kyo had returned to his normal self. He decided he wanted to try the challenge of ice climbing. Tohru, being slightly less adventuresome, decided to spend the day around the hotel. It was Christmas Eve, after all. She would make sure that everything was ready and perfect for the following day. She spent the afternoon making sure they had reservations for meals, and decorating the hotel room. She ran to the store and bought cocoa mix and a small cake. Then she checked on her present for Kyo. It was safe and sound in its hiding place.

By the time she had completed all of her tasks, Tohru's stomach was beginning to growl again. Surprised, she looked out the window and noticed it had grown dark. Deciding it was time to eat, Tohru went off in search of Kyo. She headed to the lounge, since that's where everyone went after their outdoor activities, due to the existence of the fireplace. She glanced around the room. Kyo was nowhere to be seen. Slightly disappointed, Tohru want to check with Yuki and Shigure.

When Yuki answered the door, Tohru asked, "Have you seen Kyo? Is he here? I'm looking for him to go to dinner."

Yuki shook his head, "No, I haven't see him since he stormed out of here this morning. I thought he was with you."

"What's going on?" asked Shigure, coming out of the bathroom.

"Apparently," Yuki answered, "Kyo has gone missing."

Tohru jumped in, "He left after lunch to go ice climbing. He hasn't been back to the room, unless he came while I was at the store, and I can't find him anywhere."

"Hmm. I don't like the sound of that," Shigure said, then, after thinking for a moment, "but it could work well in a novel. Young lovers on a romantic holiday until one of them has a tragic accident and is never heard from again."

Catching Tohru's worried expression, Yuki scowled at Shigure and hit him over the head. Turning back to Tohru he said to her, "Don't worry. I'm sure nothing like that has happened. Shigure just lets his imagination run wild and he doesn't think before he speaks."

But, having the idea put into her head, Tohru was not so easily calmed.

Shigure, having regained some sense of what was appropriate, added, "Yes, sorry. I'll tell you what, Tohru; we'll go and explain the situation to the hotel staff. We can ask if any of them have seen him. And if not, I'm sure they can do something to help us find him."

Looking slightly calmer, Tohru nodded and followed Yuki and Shigure to the reception area. She and Yuki waited in the lounge as Shigure explained the situation. After a few minutes of talking with the staff, the older man approached the two youths, "None of the staff has see Kyo since he left. They'll try paging him and if he doesn't show up, they will call the local search and rescue squads and get a search party going."

At that moment they hear the page calling for Kyo. When Kyo didn't show up after a few minutes, Tohru's eyes began to well up. She grew pale as she began to imagine the worst.

"Tohru," Shigure ordered, in an uncommonly serious voice, "Go sit down. You don't look well and Yuki and I can't catch you if you faint."

As Tohru moved towards the sofa, Shigure grabbed Yuki's arm and pulled him aside, "I'm going to go out and help look for Kyo. I want you to stay here with Tohru. If something bad has happened, she shouldn't be there to see but she also shouldn't be alone right now."

Yuki wanted to argue that it should be Tohru's decision whether she stayed or searched, but Shigure's face told him not to try. Instead he nodded reluctantly and said, "Tell them all to bring him back safe, for her sake."

Shigure ran off and Yuki turned to Tohru with sad eyes. He walked slowly towards her, not really wanting the task that had been assigned to him. He surprised himself by thinking that he would much rather be out searching for Kyo, also. Maybe he was finally learning not to feel such animosity towards his cousin. Maybe he just hated to see Tohru so upset. Maybe it was a little bit of both. But, for whatever reason, he found himself wishing he could switch places with Shigure. Then, thinking about how Shigure might handle the situation, the decided maybe it was better this way.

He sat down next to Tohru, "Look, I'm sure he'll be all right. If anyone can handle himself in the great outdoors, it's Kyo. He may not always act like the smartest guy in the world, actually he never does, but he does know what to do in the wilderness. He did train in the woods for moths before you met him, remember?"

When he got no response, Yuki glanced down at Tohru. She had cried herself to sleep. He took the throw blanket off the nearby chair and placed it over her, praying that when she woke up, it would be Kyo sitting beside her.


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket (still).

A/N: Chapter 13 and 14 (this one) posted together. If you haven't read chapter 13 yet, please go back and do so.

Roses of Glass Chapter 14 

When Tohru woke up later that night, there had still been no word as to Kyo's whereabouts. But by this point, she was able to hold herself together enough to keep from crying. She glanced out the window. At least it wasn't snowing. That would have impeded the search. She pulled the blanket closer to her and sipped the coffee Yuki had brought her. She looked back at Yuki to find him frowning at her.

"You look tired," he told her, "maybe you should try to get some more sleep."

Tohru shook her head, "No, I'm not going to sleep until I hear something. I can't. I have too much going on in my head to try to sleep again right now."

Yuki's expression softened as he nodded, "Okay, I understand."

Meanwhile 

Kyo let out a sigh a he leaned back against the wall. It was getting very late. Tohru was probably getting really worried. Maybe the others were too. He wondered if anyone was looking for him. He wondered if he would get back to the hotel in time to spend Christmas with Tohru. He wondered a lot of things. Being stuck as he was, there wasn't much else for him to do. And it kept his mind off the cold air that was trying to chill him to the bone. He thought back on the events that have lead him to this position.

The ice climbing had been great. In fact, Kyo had gotten so wrapped up in the challenge that he had lost track of time, only realizing as the sun started to go set how long he had been gone. Trying to make his way back to the hotel in the dark, he had stepped in a hole in the snow, lost his balance and tumbled embarrassingly down the slope. In the process, he managed to wreck his sense of direction and sprain his ankle, making his trek back to the hotel both difficult and painful. When he came across an old utility shed, he decided that it would be wiser to use the small shelter to wait until either the pain in his ankle subsided or someone came to find him. After all, between the cold, the pain, and the exhaustion he was feeling, the last thing he need was to get more lost than he figured he already was.

At first, the shelter had been a huge relief. It blocked out the wind and gave Kyo a chance to get off his injured leg and rest. But as it grew later, the air within the shed grew colder and his ankle continued to throb. As a shiver ran through him, Kyo though to himself that he would give almost anything to be sitting by the fire back at the hotel with Tohru fussing over his ankle. He closed hid eyes and tried to imagine himself there. Within a few minutes, his exhaustion overtook him and he fell asleep.

Back at the hotel, Tohru was growing restless. Suddenly she stood up, startling Yuki.

"That's it," she exclaimed, "I don't care what Shigure said. I can't just wait here any longer. I have to go out and look."

"But...." Yuki began.

"I have to do this. You can come and help me or you can stay here. But I need to get out there."

"Okay, I'll help you."

Both went to their rooms to layer on their warm clothes and grab some blankets before meeting back at the lounge. Yuki also grabbed a flashlight that he had brought along for any nighttime outings that might have come up. He figure this counted. They decided to check back at the hotel in an hour if they hadn't found anything and then they set out to search for Kyo.

Tohru had watched Kyo leave and knew which direction to head out in. After walking for about fifteen minutes, Tohru saw Yuki hop over something in front of them.

"Careful, there's a hole there," Yuki warned and turned to shine the light on it for her. He stopped halfway through his turn as the light caught a strange pattern in the snow.

"What is that?" Tohru asked.

"It looks like something slid down this slope here. It's could be worth checking out."

They followed the track down the slope and found a large, slightly sunken in area with footprints leading off from it. They were not quite headed in the right direction of the hotel.

"Oh, Yuki!" exclaimed Tohru, "Do you think it was Kyo?"

Yuki answered, "There's one way to find out."

They followed the footsteps, which went further off track from the direction of the hotel. Yuki came to a halt as the shed came into view. He shined the light across the ground. The footsteps headed into the shed. He was going to suggest to Tohru that he go first in case it wasn't Kyo or it was but he was seriously injured, not that he would actually mention the second possibility to Tohru. Before he got the chance to say anything, however, Tohru darted past him towards the shed.

She threw open the door to the shed as Yuki caught up to her with the light. Kyo was leaning against the back wall with his eyes closed. Tohru let out a gasp, and not, knowing what to think, started crying.

A moment later, Kyo's voice reached her ears, "Tohru?"

He eyes widened as she looked to see Kyo gazing back at her. She ran to him, "Kyo! Are you okay? What happened? I was so worried." Then as she touched his face, "You're freezing!"

Kyo gave her the best sheepish grin he could muster under the circumstances and said through chattering teeth, "It got later than I thought. I tried to walk back in the dark but fell and hurt my ankle. Then I couldn't find my way back so when I found this place I thought it might be best to stay put. I didn't realize how cold it would get."

As Tohru placed a couple of blankets around Kyo's shoulders, Yuki asked him, "Do you think you can walk on that ankle?"

"I don't know. Maybe with some support," Kyo answered.

"Okay then, we'll help you get back the hotel and let everyone know that you've been found."

On the way back, Tohru could not take her eyes off of Kyo. She was afraid he might disappear again. But she was happy. She thought to herself that no matter what Christmas held, she could count Kyo's safety as on of the best gifts she ever received.


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN FRUITS BASKET!

A/N: I finally got to Christmas. Sorry that the gifts aren't in this chapter. But I promise they will absolutely, positively be in the next chapter. So, if you have any ideas of what you would like the gifts to be, this is your last chance to let me know.

Roses of Glass Chapter 15 

Kyo and Tohru were back in their room again. By the time they had gotten back to the hotel, alerted the search party, and had Kyo checked out by a doctor, it was long past midnight. Everyone was tired and Kyo was freezing so they all headed back to their rooms.

Tohru watched Kyo hobble across the room on the crutches the doctor had given him after declaring his ankle badly sprained. Between the crutches, fatigue, and still being half frozen, he was having some difficulty carrying out his nightly routine. Someone had given him sweats to change into while he was with the doctor, so at least that much was done. But he was fumbling to keep a grip on his toothbrush while maintain his balance with the crutches.

"I would offer to run you a warm bath, but I'd be worried you'd fall asleep," she told him.

"It'd be too much of a hassle right now anyway. I just want to go to bed," he replied over his shoulder. Then he added, "Thanks for the thought, though."

Tohru waited for him to get in bed before getting ready herself. She expected that Kyo would be so exhausted after his ordeal that he would pretty much fall asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. She was surprised, therefore, to find him still awake when she finally got in bed. But awake he was, and shivering uncontrollably. She reached over and touched his cheek. His skin still felt unbelievably cold to her touch. Without a word, Tohru moved closer to Kyo and wrapped her arms around him. Kyo automatically leaned into the warmth Tohru provided.

Slightly embarrassed, Kyo looked down into Tohru's face, "Thanks. And I'm sorry that I worried you tonight."

"Oh, don't be sorry," answered Tohru, reaching up to brush Kyo's hair out of his eyes, "I'm just glad that you're okay."

"Tohru?"

"Mm?"

"Uh...Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, Kyo," Tohru smiled as Kyo fell asleep in her arms. She stretched her head up and gave him a light kiss on the forehead before falling asleep herself.

Due to the long night, everyone slept in on Christmas Day. Tohru woke up before Kyo. Now, in the full light of day, a deep blush painted her cheeks at the realization of the position she and Kyo were in. She tried to pull away but Kyo, still asleep, tightened his grip and prevented her from moving. Smiling to herself, Tohru managed to free one arm. She reached up and touched his cheek. She was relieved to note that his skin no longer felt like ice.

Suddenly, there was a loud knock on the door. Startled awake, Kyo fell out of the bed, pulling Tohru off with him. They landed in a heap on the floor, Kyo now transformed into his cat form. Tohru scrambled to get apart from him, fearing that she might be crushing his already injured ankle.

"Oh, Kyo," she exclaimed, "I am so sorry. Are you okay? How's your ankle?"

"I'm no worse that I was before. You might want to get the door," replied Kyo, nodding in the direction that the sound of knocking was still coming from.

"Oh! Right!" Tohru got up and ran to the door.

"Good morning, or afternoon, I guess. Here are your breakfasts," said the young man at the door.

Tohru, somewhat confused, stammered in response, "B-but we didn't order any breakfasts."

"Oh! These were ordered by a Shigure Sohma. I was told to bring them here."

"Shigure ordered breakfasts for us?" Tohru asked, the remembering her manners, thanked the young man and accepted the breakfasts.

When Tohru reentered the rooms with the breakfast trays, Kyo was back in human form, sitting on the bed, pulling a sweater on over his head. Tohru set the trays down on the small table and grabbed Kyo's crutched to hand to him. Kyo accepted the crutches, but rather than get up, he grabbed Tohru's wrist. She turned to see what he wanted. Kyo remained silent, but the look on his face told Tohru what he was thinking. It was a look that held shyness, longing, hope, thankfulness, and a bit of doubt and fear. He reminded her a little kitten, who had somehow been separated from its mother then was found be a human. But the kitten wasn't sure whether the person would give him a home or ignore him and send him off to continue to wander. Tohru sank to her knees in front of him, meaning to answer that question. She gave him a quick kiss and took both of his hands in hers.

A small smile appeared on his face, "Thanks for coming to find me last night. I did kind of wonder if anyone would."

Tohru's heart went out to him. With the way his own family had treated him in the past, due to a curse that wasn't even his fault, it wasn't difficult to see why he had been unsure.

"I'll always come find you when you're lost. Didn't you know? You're the most important person in the world to me now."

At her words, Kyo's smile widened and the question was erased from his face.

Tohru grinned, "And after breakfast, we'll go find Shigure and Yuki and we can all exchange gifts."

"I think you might want to get dressed first."

Kyo watched Tohru blush as she realized that she was, in fact, still in her pajamas, "Also, I was kinda thinking that you and I could exchange our gifts separately from the others. I think it would be more special or something that way."

"Oh, okay," Tohru replied, grabbing her fork, "I guess we could come back here afterwards."

"Thanks," Kyo replied. Her words a few moments ago had meant so much to him. He smiled to himself. Maybe, just maybe, he didn't have to worry about how his gift would go over after all.


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket.

A/N: Hey everyone. So sorry for the delay. I had a hard time writing this chapter, made worse by a hectic month, and a couple of illnesses. But I made this chapter a bit longer than usual and I'm hoping to have the next chapter up in less than a week.

Roses of Glass Chapter 16 

Kyo and Tohru arrived at the room that Yuki and Shigure were sharing. Shigure answered the door, dancing around and singing, "Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas."

"Idiot," Kyo yelled at Shigure, "What if we had been hotel staff and you answered the door like that?"

"He's already done it four times," sighed Yuki, who was sitting on the foot of his bed.

Kyo glared at Shigure and was about to yell again when Tohru started laughing. Kyo turned to look at her, saying, "What's so funny?"

"I'm just picturing the hotel staff coming to have Shigure answer the door like that. It must have been really funny. By the way, thanks for breakfast, Shigure."

"Oh, think nothing of it," Shigure replied, waving it off, "Anyway, come in, come in. I suppose, since we're all here now, we should go ahead and exchange gifts. Let me take those off your hands, Tohru."

Because Kyo was still on crutches, Tohru had ended up carrying all of the presents to Yuki and Shigure's room. She had put them all in a large bag to make them easier to carry. They weren't to heavy, but she gratefully surrendered them to Shigure at his request. Shigure began sorting through the gifts as Tohru and Kyo made their way into the room. Tohru took her seat on the floor at the foot of Shigure's bed, and then took Kyo's crutches as he sat beside her and let out sigh.

"What's wrong?" she asked him, "Is your ankle sore?"

Kyo gave a small, lopsided grin, "A little bit, but I'm also kind of tired. I'm not really used to being on crutches, and getting around on them is more work than it looks like."

Tohru got a worried expression on her face, "Oh, Kyo, I'm sorry. I didn't realize. We could have stayed in our room. I could have called Shigure and Yuki and had them come over."

"It's okay," Kyo tried to calm her down, "I didn't realize either. But it's not really that bad. You don't have to worry."

"Besides," Shigure spoke up, "we have a lot more presents here and it would have been a terrible hassle to carry all of them."

Only when Shigure said that did Tohru notice the huge pile of presents that had built up while she and Kyo had been talking. "Where did all of these come from?" she asked, "I don't need all of these."

Yuki answered her, "Shigure actually brought the gifts from everyone else as well. The all wanted to get you something for Christmas."

"Funny though," added Shigure, glancing between Tohru and Kyo, "I don't see your gifts to each other here."

"Oh, well, we decided to exchange our gifts separately," replied Tohru.

Kyo added, "And don't you go thinking something perverted, Shigure."

Shigure feigned shock, "How could you say such a thing to such a fine, upstanding person such as myself."

"Just shut up and open your presents!" shouted Kyo and Yuki in unison.

Once they began opening presents, things calmed down and they were able to spend the next little while in peace. Tohru, completely in awe over receiving so many presents, handled each one delicately as though they were made of glass, and opened them slowly and carefully. She wanted to savor the memory of every single one. Yuki had given her a light blue cashmere scarf. Shigure gave her a set of miniature zodiac animals (and cat) figures, much like the ones she had been admiring when they first met. Kagura had sent handmade throw pillows for her room, Momiji's gift was a pair of bunny slippers and Haru sent her a small box of chocolates (A/N: I got some of the best chocolates ever from a convenience store in Japan this summer). From Hatori she received a small, wooden music box. Ayame had made her a dress of the same shade of blue as the scarf from Yuki. Kisa's gift was a stuffed tiger and a paper fan from Hiro was included. Ritsu had sent her a few tins of different teas. There was also a simple, silver hairclip from Kazuma. Shigure had even packed a gift for her from Uo and Hana. This was a beautiful kimono with a note attached that it was to be worn at "her special New Year's celebration" with Kyo.

After all of those gifts were open, a package still remained next to Tohru. Kyo noticed it and asked, "Who is that one from?"

Tohru picked it up and looked at the tag, "It's from Akito."

The others turned their attention to her at that and watched her open that present. Inside there was a tiny, delicate glass rose.

"That's so pretty," Tohru exclaimed.

Yuki and Shigure exchanged glances. Shigure cleared his throat, "Well, why don't you two kids head on back to your room. I'm sure you're eager to exchange your own gifts. We'll have some of the hotel staff deliver this all to your room."

"Oh, okay," Tohru replied as she helped Kyo to his feet (or foot and two crutches).

When the two were gone, Yuki turned to Shigure, "What do you ting that was about? Akito's gift to Tohru?"

"I don't know," replied the older man, "but we should be cautious until New Year's, just in case."

Meanwhile, in Kyo and Tohru's room, a few more gifts were being exchanged. First, Tohru was giving her gift to Kyo. She handed him two boxes and said, "There are two parts to my gift. Well, actually, there's more too. But the other gift, I can't give you for another week. But Kazuma helped me with part of this. I'll explain it all after you open both parts."

Kyo opened the first box. Inside was a new, high quality, digital camera. The second box contained a photo album. When he opened this, Kyo found pictures of himself at various ages with his mother and Kazuma. The last picture was one of him and Tohru that Shigure had taken earlier that year.

"I noticed that you don't have any pictures. I thought that was kind of sad because pictures capture happy memories. So I asked Kazuma for help getting the old pictures and got the camera so that you could capture your future happy memories," explained Tohru.

Kyo stared at Tohru. Leave it to her to think of something like this. For someone like him, who hadn't had the easiest life, it was actually an amazing gift to remind him that there were good times to remember as well. He glanced back at the picture of the two of them and then returned his gaze to Tohru and said, quietly and sincerely, "Thank you."

Then Kyo pulled out a small, decorative box and handed it to Tohru, "There will be an explanation to go with this, too."

Tohru lifted the lid to the box. Inside was a ring. A delicate band with a modest but shimmering stone.


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: Fruits Baskets and the characters involved in the story belong to Natsuki Takaya, not to me.

A/N: This is the last ski trip chapter. But there is a little bit more story before it gets to New Years. And, this has absolutely nothing to do with the story, but I've noticed that one of my cats really likes to sleep curled up with my Kyo plushie, so I guess Kyo really does attract cats.

Roses of Glass Chapter 17 

Tohru sat, silently staring at the contents of the box in her hand. Kyo, who had been sitting with his head down to hide his blush, glanced up nervously. Tohru continued to stare at the ring and Kyo started fidgeting.

Eventually, Kyo decided he couldn't stand the silence a moment longer. He slammed his hands on his knees and tried to jump up to a standing position, forgetting about his injured ankle. The ankle, not anywhere near fully recovered, wouldn't support his weight and he tumbled to the ground. This at least succeeded in breaking Tohru out of her trance.

"Kyo! Are you okay?" she asked, moving to his side on the ground.

"Damn it!" Kyo yelled, grabbing his ankle, "That hurt like hell."

"Why did you try to jump up like that?"

Kyo sat up and sighed, "I forgot about my ankle and the silence was driving me crazy. I just wanted you to say something. But since I'm already talking now, let me go ahead and explain. It's not an engagement ring or anything. I mean, I know we're too young, and with the curse, I don't know if I'll ever even be able to get married. But I want to stay with you. And I want you to stay with me. For as long as possible. So, that's what this means."

"So, it's like a promise ring?" asked Tohru.

"I guess you could call it that, if you want."

After another few moments of Tohru's silent inspection of the ring, Kyo spoke up, calmly and quietly this time, "Well, aren't you going to say anything?"

Tohru slowly raised her head to meet Kyo's gaze and a smile broke out on her face, "I think it's beautiful."

"So, um, will you wear it?" Kyo asked, hopefully.

Tohru's smile grew wider, "Of course I will."

Kyo couldn't help grinning as he took the ring form its box and placed it on Tohru's finger. Instead of withdrawing his hand when he was finished, he laced his fingers with hers, hoping it would give him the strength and courage he needed to say the rest of the things he wanted to say to her. He wasn't used to talking about his feelings and it was making him really nervous to realize that he was about to. He decided to just start talking before he lost his nerve entirely, "There's a lot more that I want to say, but I don't know if I can. But I'm going to try. I guess, I really kind of want to, uh, thank you. You're the first person, outside of the Sohmas to make me feel accepted at all. Even within the family, I was only truly and fully accepted by Kagura and my master. But now, most of the other Sohmas, at least the cursed ones, are starting to fully accept me, and see me as more than a monster. Whether you believe it or not, I know that that's your doing also. So, I guess what I'm saying is that no matter what happens in the future or how you feel about me, I, um, guess I, you know, love you."

By this point, Kyo was hiding his face, partially in embarrassment and partially from an ingrained fear of rejection, which his better senses knew wasn't coming. He might have continued to hide, but Tohru's hand came under his chin and lifted his head. Automatically, he brought his eyes up as well, until they met hers. Tohru's eyes were shimmering with tears that were starting to spill over.

Alarmed, Kyo asked, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," Tohru replied, wiping her eyes, "You told me you love me. I'm very happy because I love you, too."

With perfect timing, there was a knock on the door. Kyo, still furiously blushing from his confession, sent silent plead to Tohru. Understanding Kyo's need to regain his composure, Tohru went to answer the door. It was Shigure, dragging a cart with all the presents they had left in his room. He took one look at Tohru's tear-stained face and called to Kyo, "Kyo! What have you been doing to our sweet little flower? I can't believe you would go so far as to make her cry."

"Why you...." Kyo began to yell.

Tohru cut him off, "Kyo didn't do anything. Honest. I was crying because I was happy."

Shigure, catching sight of the ring, responded, "Ah, so I see. Well, anyway, I came to drop off you presents and let you know that since we'll be leaving tomorrow, Yuki and I plan to take advantage of our last full day to hit the slopes. You're welcome to join us if you'd like, Tohru."

Tohru glanced back at Kyo. Because of his ankle, he was obviously not going to be doing any skiing. She turned back to Shigure, "Thank you for the invitation, but I think I will spend the day here with Kyo."

"I figured you might say that. Thought I would ask, though, just in case." Shigure replied.

"Thank you. I appreciate it."

Once Shigure left, Kyo hobbled over to Tohru, "Why didn't you go with them? You still could. I wouldn't mind; I know you were looking forward to skiing on this trip. Besides, it'll probably be pretty boring to just hang around here all day. You should go."

"But I want to spend the day with you. I don't mind staying here. I don't think it'll be boring. I like spending time with you," was Tohru's reply.

Kyo looked down at Tohru's upturned face. If someone had told him, even six months ago, that he would ever be this happy, he would have laughed in his or her face. It was an amazing thing that Tohru had done, not only for him, but also for all of those under the Sohma curse. It even gave him hope that, perhaps someday, the curse might be lifted.

Clearing his throat, he said to her, "Well, if we're gonna be here all day, we may as well start by getting some hot chocolate by the fire."

Her answering smile was the exact response he had been looking for.


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: Never at any time past, present or future have I owned, do I own, or will I own Fruits Basket, or any of the characters, therein.

A/N: So, I'm trying a hard to be better at updating regularly, so here is chapter 18. This is really more of a filler chapter leading up to some more interesting things happening in the next chapter. And I case I don't get another update before then, Happy Halloween, everyone (I'm going to try to carve a pumpkin to look like Ryoga's "strong tattoo" in Ranma).

Roses of Glass Chapter 18 

"Oh, it does feel good to be home!" exclaimed Shigure, walking into his house, "Don't get me wrong, I love taking vacations, but it will be nice to be in my own bed again. Though maybe some of us aren't so excited about that part."

Kyo and Tohru both turned a deep shade of red at Shigure's final remark. But neither could really argue it. It had not taken them long to grow accustomed to the sleeping arrangements they'd had on the trip. Now that they were home, Shigure, odd as he was, wasn't likely to allow any more shared beds, under his own roof. Besides, for some reason, here there seemed to be a higher likelihood that, if they were to continue with their recent arrangements, Akito might find out.

At this point, Yuki, who had fallen asleep on the trip home, and not fully awakened, suddenly dropped his luggage and headed upstairs to his room.

"Oh, that's fine," Shigure yelled after him, "just leave your stuff in the entryway. We can leave it here as New Year's decorations. Seriously, I hope you plan on cleaning this up as soon as you're awake."

"I can move them upstairs once I put my stuff away," Tohru to Shigure.

"Oh, no, that's all right, Tohru. They can stay here until Yuki wakes up. Come to think of it, we could all use some sleep. You just head on up to your room and get some rest."

"Oh, okay," replied Tohru as she reached for her bags. Then she turned to Kyo, "Are you going to need any help? It's not going to be easy to carry that bag up the stairs with your crutches."

Kyo gave her a slightly offended look, "I've only got one bag and it has a shoulder strap. I think I can manage." With that, he started slowly up the stairs. Tohru followed after him, concerned for his safety.

Shigure watched them go and said to himself, "Now isn't that cute?" Then he himself headed upstairs to his own room.

Having spent a long day traveling back home, everyone slept soundly that night, but were woken early the next day by the ringing phone. It was a very hyper Momiji, calling to wish everyone a belated Merry Christmas. He also asked if Tohru would like to help prepare form New Year's at the Sohma main house.

Tohru decided that she would help decorated and could also use the outing to pick up some groceries. Kyo was going to stay home because of his ankle and Shigure was being hounded to finish his current book, but Yuki decided to go along. So, he and Tohru took off toward the main house. Not knowing how late they would be out, Tohru suggested that they do the shopping first and keep the groceries in the refrigerator at Hatori's house. So, after shopping, they went straight to Hatori's place. Momiji was there and he pounced on Tohru the second she walked into the house.

"Now, Momiji, you're not going to be much help today if you're a rabbit," said Hatori, entering the room, "Maybe it would be best if you tried to stay human."

"You're right, Hari. I just got so excited to see Tohru that I couldn't help myself."

Tohru and Yuki greeted Hatori, then Yuki asked, "Is it okay if we use your refrigerator? We have a few groceries we want to keep here until we go home."

"Go right ahead," replied Hatori, "By the way, Tohru, I heard Kyo had a bit of an accident. How is he doing?"

Tohru answered, "He's okay. He sprained his ankle and he's on crutches. I think he's more frustrated by his immobility than anything else."

Hatori actually chuckled, "That sounds like Kyo. Well, Yuki, why don't you bring the groceries into the kitchen? Momiji, you can take Tohru over to the hall to work on decorations."

Yuki followed Hatori farther into the house and Momiji, who had turned back into his human form, grabbed Tohru's hand and practically dragged her out, chattering about the New Year's celebration and how glad he was that Tohru was going to be able to come this year, "And we really go all out on the decorations. I'll bet you've never seen anything like it. It's just too bad you can't come to the banquet. That's one of the most interesting parts, but only the zodiac members are invited. But at least you'll have Kyo to keep you company while the rest of us are at the banquet."

Tohru walked along, half listening to Momiji. Her mind was more on Yuki's plan to break the curse. If everything went according to plan, she was willing to bet that this New Year's would be unlike any that any of the Sohmas had ever seen. And maybe, just maybe, it would be the last year with a zodiac banquet. But if things went wrong, if the plan didn't work...she didn't even want to think about what the consequences might be. She wasn't really worried for herself. If anything were to go wrong, Kyo and Yuki were likely to bare the brunt of the punishment.

"Here we are, Tohru!" exclaimed Momiji, bringing Tohru out of her thoughts.

Kisa came running at the sound of Tohru's name and threw her arms around the older girl, "Sissy! I'm glad you're here. You can come over and help Hiro and me. It'll be more fun if you help."

Tohru laughed, "Of course I'll come help you. Just give me a minute go say hi to everyone and I'll be right over, okay?"

Kisa nodded and ran back to Hiro, with Momiji in tow. Tohru looked around to see who was there and decided to go say hello to Kagura first. She was about halfway to where the other girl was working when someone suddenly stepped in front of her. She looked up to see who it was. When she saw the person's face, she took a small step back and gave a startled gasp.

"Well hello, Miss Honda," Akito said, "I'm glad you could come. I hope you'll have a good time at our New Year's celebration. Right now though, I would like it if you would come with me for a minute. There are a few things I would like to discuss with you, in private."


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: Nothing has changed since last time. Fruits Basket still does not belong to me.

A/N: Wow! Over one hundred reviews! I'm so excited! Thank you to everyone who has reviewed this story. And, if you haven't reviewed, thanks for taking the time to read it. I really appreciate it. Also, some of you know this, but if you have stories you would like me to read, just let me know, and I'll read them the first chance I get. So once again a big thank you to everyone, and here is the next chapter (it has a high dialogue content).

Roses of Glass Chapter 19 

When Yuki reached the main hall, he scanned the room for Tohru. Not finding her, he made his way to where Momiji sat with Hiro and Kisa. He placed a hand on Momiji's shoulder and asked, "Do you know where Miss Honda got to?"

"What? Um, no, not really," Momiji replied, "She said she was going to go say hi to everyone and then come over here and help us."

Hiro cleared his throat, "I know where she is. I saw her leave a little while ago with Akito."

Yuki and Momiji exchanged glances, and then Yuki took off running. Momiji would have liked to go too, but Yuki's look had, among other things, told him to stay to keep Kisa from getting worried.

Meanwhile, Akito had taken Tohru to the room she had last visited right after Kyo's monster form had been revealed to her. She was slightly nervous, recalling the events that had taken place last time she had been here. Her scalp started to hurt just thinking about it. But Akito entered the room calmly and took a seat on the floor, gesturing for her to do the same.

"You know," he said, "New Year's is a very important holiday to the Sohmas. It's very rare that an outsider is invited to celebrate with us. You should considerate it a great honor."

"I do. I'm very grateful for the invitation."

He continued, "Well, you seem to be very popular among the members of this family. They seem to think you belong among us, enough so that they don't seem to care about my opinion on the matter."

Tohru gulped.

"However," Akito went on, "I think that you have become very important to the members of Shigure's household, and I care very much about them. Therefore, I see no reason why you shouldn't be invited, so long as you know your boundaries."

"I think I do understand them," she answered.

"Well, that remains to be seen. But right now, I want to know how your Christmas was. I understand you went to Hokkaido with Shigure, Yuki, and Kyo."

Tohru nodded, "I had never been to Hokkaido before, so it was really exciting. I had been hoping to try skiing, though and never got a good chance to because of Kyo's accident. He sprained his ankle and is on crutches now. He couldn't go skiing after that, so I stayed around the hotel with him."

"Ah, yes. The two of you have grown rather close over the past several months, haven't you?" Akito asked.

"Yeah, I guess so," Tohru replied, nervously. Something in his tone of voice when he asked the question told her she ought to be cautious in her reply. She knew that Akito didn't have any great fondness for Kyo, or herself for that matter.

"By the way," Akito suddenly changed the subject, "did you receiver the present that I sent for you?"

"Oh, yes. It was beautiful. Thank you so much."

"Do you know the symbolism of a glass rose?" he asked her. When she shook her head, he added, "Well, it's nothing really important. You'll learn it someday, I'm sure."

Tohru had unconsciously started playing with the ring on her finger. She was completely unaware of what she was doing until she heard Akito saying, "That looks like a nice ring. Can I have a closer look at it?" When Tohru held out her shaking hand, Akito placed one finger on either side of her ring finger, grasping the ring between them, "Well, that really is lovely. It was a gift from Kyo, was it not? Something of a promise ring? And I imagine he probably asked you to stay with him forever."

Akito's voice had taken on a sickening tone, but Tohru held his gaze as she asked, "How did you know that?"

"My dear Miss Honda," replied Akito, in the same tone, "I know everything about this family. I have eyes and ears everywhere."

By this time, Yuki had snuck into Akito's building and was standing at the doorway of the room Akito and Tohru were occupying. Neither had noticed he was there. The fear of facing Akito was keeping him frozen where he stood. He watched as Akito grabbed Tohru's hair, into a ponytail in one hand and jerked her head around. He wanted to move then, but his fear of Akito, coupled with his memory of Tohru's reaction the last time this happened, kept him where he was.

"You realize it could never be," he heard Akito say, "No matter what either of you promised, you won't be together forever. The cat will eventually be locked up, like every other cat before him."

"I won't let that happen!" Tohru shouted.

Akito gave a sinister laugh, "How do you plan to prevent it? My word is law in this family. There is nothing you can do to save that monster."

"Well, then, you'll have to lock me up with him, because I won't break my promise. I will stay by his side forever. Even if I have to give up everything I've ever known."

Akito's temper flared and he gave another maniacal laugh, "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Why would anybody give up their life for the cat? The cat is a monstrosity."

"You want to know why?" Tohru now spoke with extreme calmness, "I can tell you why. It's really very simple. I would give up my life for Kyo because I love him."

When Yuki heard Tohru's response, his gaze went immediately to Akito's face. It was twisted with rage. That remark had been the last straw. Yuki almost failed to notice when Akito reached into his robe and pulled out a shiny object. When he realized what it was, Yuki tried to call out to warn Tohru, but he was too late. Akito ran the knife up Tohru's back and finished with a quick jerk that cut off Tohru's hair, just above where he had been holding it. Then he placed a hand on her head and said, "Actually, I want you to stay with him. Give him hope. It will make it more fun to watch him break later." Then he turned to walk out of the room, pausing to flash and evil grin at Yuki.


	20. Chapter20

Disclaimer: Hopefully you all know by now that I do not own Fruits Basket.

A/N: Okay, this chapter has a bit less of a cliffhanger than the last few. Akito has gone back into the shadows for now, but he will be back. And for those of you who are (like me) big fans of Kyo, I'm sorry he hasn't been around much lately. He will come back in the next chapter.

Roses of Glass Chapter 20 

As soon as Akito was past him, Yuki ran to Tohru's side, "Miss Honda? Are you all right? Your back is bleeding."

Tohru, in shock, reached a hand up to feel the ends of her hair. The shorter strands now reached her jaw line and the ends were very ragged. She looked over her shoulder at Yuki and her eyes filled with tears.

At that moment, Hatsuharu entered the room, "Yuki? What are you doing in here? I saw you run off, so I came to find you." Noticing Tohru's chopped hair and bloodstained shirt, he added, "What happened to her?"

"She had a run-in with Akito's temper," replied Yuki, "Haru, I need you to go get Hatori and Kagura. Bring them back here. We're going to need their help."

Haru nodded and ran off, returning more quickly than Yuki would have expected, with Hatori and Kagura hurrying along behind him. As they entered, Yuki heard both newcomers gasp as they caught sight of Tohru's condition. Hatori made his way to Tohru and began carefully checking the wound on her back. It was a long cut, but it was not very deep. Not really a dangerous wound however, Hatori imagined, it probably hurt like hell.

"Tohru?" he questioned, "I want to get you back to my place so I can properly take care of your back. Can you stand up?"

Tohru nodded slowly and shakily rose to her feet. Hatori watched as she swayed for a moment, then he nodded to Kagura, who ran over and put Tohru's arm around her shoulders. She then placed her own arm around Tohru's lower back, trying to avoid causing Tohru any more pain. Tohru winced momentarily and leaned into Kagura, but was able to walk with the older girl's support. By the time they reached Hatori's house, some of the shock had worn off and Tohru was a bit steadier on her feet. Hatori took her into one of the small rooms he used for treatment and have her a robe to cover her front as he more thoroughly examined the injury.

As he was working, he talked to her, "Well, the good news is that it's not very deep. The bleeding is already beginning to stop. If I put stitches in, it's going to be more obvious to others that something happed. And if I know you, you'd rather not worry the others, right?"

Tohru sniffled, wiped the last of the tears from her eyes and nodded in response. When she looked back at Hatori, she even managed a small smile.

"So," Hatori continued, "I'll put some butterfly closures on it. We'll put some gauze over that, and I'm going to wrap you up, as much as possible, in a tensor bandage (A/N: tensor bandages are the generic name for ACE bandages, and since the A in ACE is American, they typically aren't called ACE bandages outside the United States) for a day or two. I'll come over to Shigure's tomorrow to check on you. If the cut has closed up nicely, we'll take all this off."

"Okay"

When he had finished with his ministrations, Hatori lead Tohru out to his main office, where Yuki, Kagura, and Haru were waiting. Kagura had a sweater in one hand and scissors in the other. "I'm going to straighten up the ends of your hair for you," she told Tohru, "I also thought you might want a shirt that doesn't have blood stains and a huge tear running down the back. Kyo's going to be mad enough just hearing about it. I don't think he needs to actually see all the evidence of the damage."

Tohru's eyes widened at the suggestion, "No, I mean, thank you fro the shirt and helping with my hair, but nobody can tell Kyo."

"Um, I think he's going to notice something, whether we tell him or not," Haru said, pointing to Tohru's hair.

"I know. I'll think of something to take care of that. But you have to promise me, you won't say a word to Kyo about what happened today."

Kagura and Haru looked confused but promised anyway. Hatori and Yuki, both agreed readily, for they understood Tohru's reasoning. If Kyo found out what happened to Tohru, he would not allow her to come for New Year's, then he himself would not come, preferring to stay with Tohru. And if Kyo were not at the Sohma main house for New Year's, Yuki's plan would fall through.

"I guess for now, we can tell Kyo that your hair got caught in something while you were decorating and they had to cut a piece out. So you had the rest of it cut because otherwise you would have just had a big chunk missing," Yuki told her," It's a reasonably believable story."

"And because of the curse, he shouldn't be able to tell that your back is injured if you wear thick sweaters for the next few days," added Hatori.

Tohru thanked everyone and went back to the treatment room to change into the sweater Kagura had brought for her. When she re-emerged, she sat down and let Kagura fix her hair. By the time Kagura had finished, Tohru's hair had been fashioned into a short style that curled under at the ends. It was shorter than she had worn her hair in a very long time, but when Tohru looked in the mirror, she thought the result was actually quite cute. She thanked Kagura and gave her a small, quick hug, glad that the awkwardness over the situation with Kyo had passed awhile back.

Tohru turned to Yuki, "I'm going to go say good-bye to Kisa and the others and then I want to go home. I think I've had all the excitement I can handle her for one day."

"Are you sure you're going to be okay with coming back her for New Year's?"

At Yuki's question, Tohru gave him a determined look, "I'll be okay with it. I have to be. It's important, after all, for you and for Kyo."

Yuki shook his head in amazement. Then he went to grab the groceries out of the refrigerator and returned to escort Tohru to the main hall to say her farewells. He hoped his plan would not endanger her, but he had a feeling she would help even if she were certain it would cause her pain, as long as it meant that others could be happy. He sighed and, for the moment, decided not to thing about it. Tohru was, after all, perhaps a stronger person than anyone gave her credit for.


	21. Chapter 21

Disclaimer: While this particular fanfic belongs to me, neither Fruits Basket, nor its cast of characters belong to me.

A/N: It's the return of Kyo! Yay! Anyway, I can't believe how long this story has gone. I didn't expect it to be this long (and it's not over yet) but I'm happy that it has gotten this long and kept readers. So a big thanks again to everyone who is continuing to read. It really means a lot. And for those who thought Tohru was dead, sorry, I had to make that chapter end like that. But I wouldn't kill off Tohru. That would be too mean to Kyo.

Roses of Glass Chapter 21 

Shigure hung up the phone and turned around to find Kyo balancing on his crutches in the doorway behind him. By the look on Kyo's face, he had heard the last part of Shigure's half of the conversation. Shigure walked over to the younger boy, "That was Hatori. There was apparently a little accident today. It seems Tohru took a bit of a fall from a ladder. Hari says she'll be okay; she's just going to be sore for a few days. Oh, and her hair apparently got caught in one of the joints of the ladder and had to be cut to get her free. But, as I said, she's okay and she's on her way home now. But she might be a bit upset about the whole thing."

Shigure watched the reactions that crossed Kyo's face at each sentence and knew Tohru had been right to try to keep the truth from him, at least until after the curse was lifted. Hatori had told Shigure what really happened, but he had also, at Tohru's request, provided the cover story to tell Kyo. Judging by how upset the false story made him, if Kyo had known the truth, it was probable that he would try something rash like running off with Tohru the second she got home. That sort of reaction would not have solved anything. In fact, it likely would have made things worse. It was, indeed, a good idea that Kyo be kept in the dark for now. He could be told when they succeeded in lifting the curse; he would have to be told then, if Tohru was left with a scar. But in order for the curse to be lifted, Kyo must remain relatively calm for now, and that meant keeping the truth from him.

Kyo, still upset and worried, was waiting just inside the door when Tohru and Yuki arrived at the house. He hobbled over to Tohru and asked, "Are you okay? Hatori called Shigure and said you fell off a ladder. Did you get hurt?'

"I'm really sore, but I'll be okay. Hatori's coming over tomorrow to check up on me. He said he wanted to take a look at your ankle then, too," Tohru replied, taking off her coat, hat, and scarf.

With these outer garments removed, Kyo got his first glance at Tohru's new haircut. It was shorter than he had been expecting. It didn't look bad, but it was definitely a shock, "Did they have to cut that much off?"

Tohru touched her hair, "Do you not like it? I'm sorry. There was nothing I could do about it. They had to cut it really short."

Kyo cursed himself, "I didn't mean it like that. I think it looks nice. I was just kind of surprised, that's all."

"I'm glad you don't hat it," Tohru managed a small smile, but then winced as the pain in her back briefly intensified.

"Why don't you go lay down on the couch," suggested Kyo, "You look like you're really hurting. Yuki and I can take care of things. I can cook tonight, even if I am still on crutches. I don't have to move around too much in order to cook. You get some rest. After dinner, we can watch a movie or something."

Tohru was about to protest but Kyo gave her a look that told her not to argue so she smiled and thanked him before moving slowly into the other room. Kyo watched her leave, wanting to put his fist through the wall, but refraining from actually doing so. It was almost worse when he had no one to blame for the incident. If someone had been at fault for what happened to Tohru, he would at least be able to vent some anger by fighting that person.

Yuki notice the tension in Kyo's shoulders as he watched Tohru leave. He knew exactly what Kyo was thinking. He wondered if Kyo would actually try to take on Akito, if he were to find out what had really happened. Of all the Sohmas, Kyo seemed the most likely to try something like that, but he had his fears as well. Not to mention, he might be more reluctant if he considered how it might affect Tohru; not that Kyo was known for seriously thinking things through before he acted. Hopefully, it wouldn't matter either way for much longer. If they were successful in breaking the curse, much of Akito's power would be lost.

Later that night, after Kyo had prepared dinner, which Tohru had come to the table to eat despite Kyo's protestations, Kyo and Tohru sat watching a movie.

"I'd rather be up on the roof right now," Kyo remarked, then, catching himself, he added, "I mean, this is nice. I want to spend time with you. I just meant, I'm more comfortable up there. And I meant you could be there, too."

Tohru couldn't help but give him a smile, "I knew what you meant. I like sitting up on the roof with you. But I don't think either of us is really in any shape to go up there now. Besides, it's really cold out. I think it's colder than usual for this time of year."

Kyo nodded, "Yeah, I guess you're right."

After that, they returned to their movie. Neither one saw the end of the film. When Shigure came in a little while later, he found Tohru asleep on the sofa and Kyo sleeping sitting up on the floor with his head resting on the sofa next to Tohru's. Shigure smiled, snuck over to turn off the TV, and turned off the light on his way out.

"Now that really is just about one of the cutest things I've ever seen," Shigure commented, then thought to himself of all the ways he could potentially tease Kyo about the situation. Shaking his head, he decided, "No, maybe I can let just this one go. After all, I think maybe those two have been through enough in the past week. Once New Year's is over, then I can really tease them."

Tohru awoke awhile later. It took her a moment to realize where she was. Once she was oriented, she was somewhat surprised to not the presence of another person. She glanced down and in the dim light she saw Kyo still sleeping with his head resting next to her. Then she realized that since the lights and television were off, someone must have walked in and seen them like this. Looking back at Kyo, she gave a soft smile and decided it didn't matter. She leaned over and kissed the top of Kyo's head before laying back down and returning to her slumber.


	22. Chapter 22

Disclaimer: In case you didn't know yet, I don't own Fruits Basket.

A/N: Okay. It's almost New Year's (in the story). I think the whole New Year's part might start in the next chapter (but don't hate me if it doesn't, I don't always know what's going to happen when I actually sit down to write). But I can tell you that New Year's will take more than one chapter. I mean I took eight chapters to do the Christmas ski trip that I didn't originally plan to have in the story, so who knows how long New Year's will go. Anyway, here is chapter 22.

Roses of Glass Chapter 22 

When Hatori arrived at Shigure's house the next morning, Kyo and Tohru were still asleep, as was Yuki. Hatori was actually somewhat relieved to discover this. He wanted to speak privately to Shigure before administering to the two teens. He wanted to discuss the plan for New Year's without offending Yuki, scaring Tohru, or letting Kyo in on the plan.

Shigure lead Hatori into his office, "What's on your mind, Hari?"

"Yuki's plane," Hatori replied bluntly, "What do you think the chances are that it will actually work? If it fails, you do realize that things are going to get much worse for those two?"

Shigure thought for a moment before answering, "I really don't know what the chances are. It seems like such a simple thing, you would thing someone would have thought it up and tried it before."

"Even if someone in one of the past generations had thought of it, it wouldn't have worked before. The cat and the rat have never been able to get beyond their hatred of one another before now. And that will be the key to the whole thing, if it works," reasoned Hatori.

"So, indirectly, Tohru will lead to the breaking of the curse. After all, she's responsible for getting those two to see more than the cat and the rat."

"Don't take this all so lightly, Shigure," Hatori said, reprovingly, "Did Yuki tell you what he overheard between Tohru and Akito? There's no telling what Akito will do to her if this doesn't work out."

"I know, you're right. We're going to have to come up with some kind of back up," Shigure spoke seriously, then, shaking his head, he added, "That girl really is something, you know? She stands up to the one person who has the rest of us shaking in our skins at the thought of him. I wonder where that courage comes from?"

Hatori did not answer Shigure's question. Instead he turned toward the office door and asked, "Where are Tohru and Kyo? I think I should probably go attend to them now."

Shigure smiled in response and pointed to the room across the small hallway. As Hatori left, Shigure turned to the drawing on his desk, trying to look innocent as he awaited Tohru and Kyo's reactions to being discovered.

Kyo awoke to the sound of someone clearing their throat. He woke suddenly, looking around the room until his eyes rested on Hatori, standing in the doorway. The eyebrow of Hatori's visible eye was raised and he had the faintest hint of a smirk on his face. Kyo was about to ask him exactly what he found so amusing, when he felt something move behind him. Realizing what her would see, a somewhat mortified Kyo turned around. Tohru was just beginning to stir on the sofa behind him. Kyo whipped his head back around to face Hatori, "It's not what you think! We were watching a movie and we just fell asleep. It was nothing weird. I mean, nothing happened."

"Did I say anything?" was Hatori's response.

Back in his office, Shigure was chuckling to himself. Kyo could be so predictable. That sometimes made him a lot of fun to have around. It seemed Shigure had forgotten his earlier decision to refrain from teasing Kyo and Tohru until after New Year's, when hopefully the curse would be lifted. It was just too much fun to give up.

Meanwhile, as Kyo was searching for a good response to Hatori, Tohru sat up and opened her eyes. Having decided the night before that she didn't care that someone had seen them asleep together, her reaction to seeing Hatori was quite different from Kyo's, "Oh! Good morning, Hatori! Good morning, Kyo!"

Hatori nodded in response but Kyo just stared at her. How could she be so calm? Didn't she realize what had happened? But somehow, looking at Tohru's smiling face slowly rid Kyo of his embarrassment. After all, as he had told Hatori, nothing had happened. And if Tohru wasn't upset, why should he be? 'At least it wasn't Shigure,' Kyo thought. He then realized that since Hatori had known where to find them, Shigure probably knew they were there. Looking back at Tohru, though, he didn't even really mind that, much.

Hatori noticed the change in Kyo as he watched Tohru and thought that Shigure had been right earlier. It made perfect sense to give Tohru at least partial credit if Yuki's plan worked. It was probably mostly her doing that allowed Yuki to think up the plan in the first place. Coming out of his thoughts, Hatori walked over to Kyo and placed a hand on his shoulder. Kyo, who had still been staring at Tohru, nearly jumped out of his skin and turned to glare at Hatori. The doctor ignored Kyo's look and said to him, "I want to take a look at that ankle. We'll see if we can move you towards getting off those crutches. Then I want to check Tohru, as well. I'm sure you have no objections to that."

Kyo grumbles something, but nodded. He really was sick of the damn crutches. He couldn't do anything while he was using them. And he did want to make sure that Tohru was okay. So, he extended his leg out for Hatori to look at. While this was going on, Tohru excused herself to change into something that buttoned up the back, so it would be easier for Hatori to check her wound. It was also an opportunity to get away from Kyo before Hatori checked up on her. After all, it would ruin everything if Kyo say the injury on her back. She knew that Hatori would come up to her room to examine her wound.

About ten minutes later, the expected knock came on her door. Hatori took a look at her back and told her, "That's healing up nicely. I don't see any sign of infection. I'm going to let you take the bandage off, but I want to keep the butterfly closures on, just to be safe. If it starts to hurt worse or itch badly, I want you to come see me."

Tohru nodded before asking, "What about Kyo? How's his ankle doing?"

"Well, there's still some swelling. But I've got him putting partial weight on it now. If he wants, he can get around with just one of his crutches. He may be off them entirely by New Year's. I'll be back here the day after tomorrow to check on him again."

Tohru nodded again and followed Hatori as he left her room and headed downstairs. Kyo was at the bottom of the stairs, using one crutch and glaring at Shigure, who was laughing his head off. Shigure looked up and saw Hatori, "Ah, Hari, did you have to tell him he could get around more? Things were really peaceful the last few days."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Kyo yelled.

As the argument continued, Tohru and Hatori exchanged a glance. Some things would never change.


	23. Chapter 23

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket.

A/N: Well, I didn't lie last time. We really do get to New Year's in this chapter. I guess that means I'll probably have an end to this story by the end of the year. I'm already forming the idea for my next Fruits Basket fic, so hopefully, when this one does end, it won't be too long before I get the next one up. . But, I'm not going to start writing it, until this one if finished, or I'll never get either of them updated. Also, I apologize if this chapter seems to get repetitive; the first part is really kind of filler material. And as always, thanks for the reviews, I love to hear from you and thanks for liking my story.

Roses of Glass Chapter 23 

By New Year's Eve, Kyo was off his crutches, though he was still slightly favoring his left leg. He sat up in his room, waiting for Shigure and Yuki to finish the New Year's cleaning. Because of their injuries, he and Tohru were exempt from today's chores. This meant that the chores might take a little longer than usual, but Kyo was almost relieved about that. He still wasn't entirely sure that it was a good idea for Tohru to be going to the Sohma main house. He would rather stay here with her, like the past year, but she was so insistent upon going. At least they would still be together, and, he thought, remembering her present from her friends, there was maybe something for him to look forward to.

There was a knock on his door. When he got up to answer it, Kyo found Tohru, clutching the bag in which her kimono and next few days' clothes were packed. She smiled at him and said, "Yuki and Shigure have finished up the cleaning. They're ready to go now, so Shigure asked me to come get you."

"Oh, okay," Kyo replied as he joined her in the hallway. They joined Yuki and Shigure downstairs. Once they had all shrugged into their coats, they headed out.

The walk to the main house was, perhaps, a bit more pleasant than the part of it that Kyo and Yuki had been on the previous year. Tohru cheerfully lead the conversation this time, rather than Shigure's guilt-inspiring speech from the last New Year's trip. However, beneath the added cheer, there was an underlying tension. Every member of the group was worried about how this holiday visit would turn out. Even without knowing the truth about what had happened a few days prior, Kyo was, maybe, the most tense. From his point of view, everything was going a little to well to be real. He felt it in his gut that something was being planned to take place during this holiday. He could not realize however, that one of the hidden agendas of the trip could end up being highly beneficial to him and his entire family.

The other three knew that, for better or worse, this holiday would change their lives forever. Even if guaranteed good results, change rarely comes easily or without some apprehension. It was even worse without that guarantee. And, they had the added stress of trying to keep their plan a secret until it was time to implement it. At least Hatori knew and would be helpful. And Kagura and Haru, while in the dark about the plan, would at least be helpful in watching out for Tohru while Akito was around, after what they had seen earlier that week.

By the time they reached the Sohma main house, each of the visitors had half a mind to turn around and head home without so much as a glance back over their shoulders. At the same time, each knew that it was not an option to turn back, especially not now that they were already here. Collectively taking a large breath to build up their courage, the members of Shigure's household walked through the gate and toward the building that held their accommodations for the duration of their stay.

They had not yet reached their destination, however, when they came across Kagura, who rushed up to Tohru, "Oh! You're here. You get to come with me. We're gonna get ready together. Kisa's waiting for you, too. She wants you to help her get ready."

Before Tohru could answer, Kagura grabbed her arm and pulled her off, casting a look to Yuki that told him she would do her best to make sure Tohru stayed safe. Yuki gave a slight nod, but Kyo was a bit more upset. The whole idea of having Tohru around the main house made him worry enough when she was with him, let alone off without him. Besides, he had wanted to spend some time with her. Other than the walk over, he really hadn't seen that much of her that day. Reluctantly and rather morosely, he followed Yuki and Shigure into their temporary home.

Once he had settled in, Kyo walked out of his room, hoping to discover Tohru was back from Kagura's house. Not only had Tohru not returned yet, but also Yuki and Shigure were nowhere to be found. Bitterly, Kyo thought they must have gone off to get ready for the banquet. Despite the fact that not being invited meant he would have Tohru to himself that evening, he couldn't fully shake his resentment of being made an outcast in his own family. Although he was reluctant to let Tohru return to an empty house, Kyo decided he needed to go out and get some air. He would stay close to the house. Besides, Kagura would either walk Tohru back herself or send someone close to her.

As Kyo walked around, he found that despite the many times he had been there before, it still amazed him sometimes how large the complex was. All decorated for New Year's, it seemed to grow even larger than its already impressive size. Looking around, he realized that he was actually glad he lived in a smaller and, arguably, quieter house. It almost made him laugh to think about how his opinion of living at Shigure's place had changed so much in the time he had been there.

Kyo was not so lost in thought, though, that he did not hear the footsteps that came up behind him a few minutes later. Once it became obvious that whoever was behind him was actually following him, Kyo whirled around, shouting, "What do you want? Do you think this is funny?"

His voice trailed into a whisper, as he was able to see that his stalker was Akito. The head of the family had a smile on his face that made Kyo squirm. As Akito took a step closer to Kyo, the smile transformed into a fully sardonic expression and he remarked, "Kyo, I'm rather surprised to see you here. I'm almost impressed that you showed up. I would have thought you would have stayed at Shigure's with that girl again. Especially after the other day. I don't know whether to think you're overconfident or just plain stupid. I think I'll go with stupid."

Kyo gritted his teeth against the insult and asked, "Why would what happened the other day factor into my coming or not. Tohru fell off a ladder. It's not like it was anyone's fault. Why shouldn't we still be here?'

Akito gave a small, disbelieving laugh, "She actually came as well?"

"Why not?" repeated a somewhat bewildered Kyo.

"I guess none of them told you the truth," Akito replied, mockingly, "That girl didn't fall off any ladder. We had a nice little conversation. By the way, what do you think of the haircut I gave her? I'm assuming you haven't seen her back yet."

Kyo balled his hands into fists, "You cut her hair?! Why? And what about her back? What did you do?"

You'll have to see that for yourself," Akito told him, turning to walk away.

Dumbfounded and outraged, Kyo stared after Akito for a moment, then ran off towards Kagura's house, desperate to find Tohru.

Tohru, at that moment, was being flanked by Shigure and Hatori, who had picked her up from Kagura's. The other two girls were following close behind. When they reached their destination, Tohru paused, nervously. Both men smiled reassuringly at her, then Hatori opened the door in front of them. Tohru's eyes grew wide and she let out a small gasp, "It's amazing! It's so beautiful!"


	24. Chapter 24

Disclaimer: I am not the owner of Fruits Basket or of the song, Scarlet, which some of the lines in this chapter are based on the translations of.

A/N: Okay, so I totally love all my reviewers. You guys are the best. Some of your reviews just blow me away. I can't believe how nice some of you are to my story and me. I wish I had time to thank you all individually because you all deserve it. On a side note, in my brothers Sims game, Tohru and Kyo just got married.  I just thought that was worth sharing.

Roses of Glass Chapter 24 

Kyo ran as fast as his injured ankle would let him, all the way to Kagura's house. When he got there, he pounded on the front door. There was no answer. Getting anxious, he went around the house, looking into all the first story windows. There was not one inside. Kyo glanced around, trying to decide what to do next. He had to find Tohru before Akito did.

"Damnit!" yelled Kyo, pounding his fist into the side of the house, "Where the hell could they have gone?"

Not knowing what else to do, he ran back to the house they were staying in to see if she might be there. His heart hammered against his ribs are he thought of what might happen if Akito got his hands on her. He clenched his fists, imagining all the things he would like to do to Akito, as he continued his search.

Tohru, for her part, had practically walked right into the lion's dent to find the lion was not in. She, as part of Yuki's plan, had allowed Shigure and Hatori to bring her to the one place Akito was sure to show up that night. She was in the main hall, the location of the Zodiac Banquet. Though friendly faces surrounded her, she was understandably nervous. She prayed that everything would work out tonight. A quick glance around the room told her that Akito was not the only absentee. Yuki was missing as well. But she could only hope that he was where he was supposed to be and that he hadn't run into Akito. In all honesty, Akito's absence disturbed her as much as it relieved her. The last thing she wanted was for Akito to run into Yuki or Kyo. There was no telling what he might do to either of them, especially if he somehow had any suspicions about their plan.

Just as the last part of the though entered Tohru's mind, there was a loud noise behind her. Turning, she saw Akito standing in the doorway, wearing a smirk on his face. She didn't know whether to be happy or worried to see that neither Kyo nor Yuki was with Akito, because the expression he wore made her heart stop. It was a face that declared that its owner had done something awful and enjoyed it. Tohru didn't have a chance to untangle her emotions, however, because, at that moment, Akito caught sight of her.

The smirk disappeared from Akito's face and his eyes narrowed to mere slits as he shouted, "What is that girl doing here?!"

The room fell silent as everyone's gaze turned toward Tohru. Her eyes grew wide with fear, but when Shigure stepped in front of her and opened his mouth to speak, Tohru placed her hand on his arm and pulled him back. Everyone watched in awe as she moved closer to Akito.

"Don't yell at them, " Tohru managed to order, trying to sound more confident than she felt, "I came on my own. I saw people coming in here and I followed them. They didn't even know that I was coming."

Akito stormed over to Tohru, grabbed her by the chin, and whirled her around so her back slammed into the wall at the side of the room. Tohru winced as pain shot through her. She tried to lower her head, but Akito's hand on her chin, forced her to remain looking directly into his eyes as he continued to rant, now directly at her, "You have some nerve, girl! First, you bring happiness into the cat's life! Then you tell me that you actually love that monster! I gave you fair warning then, but you didn't listen! You not only come back to the main house, but you presume to try to sit in on the Zodiac Banquet! You are far more stupid than I ever could have imagined! Now, I'm going to make you pay, not only for all of that, but for turning this family against me, as well!"

As this was going on, Yuki was racing towards the house that he and the other members of Shigure's household were using. He needed to find Kyo, and the sooner, the better. Racing around the last corner, he found exactly who he was looking for. Kyo was standing on the porch, facing the door. His hands were fisted and his head was bent in frustration.

Yuki called out to him, "Kyo! There you are. I need you to come with…."

"Why didn't you tell me?! You knew didn't you?! How could you let her come back here?!" interrupted Kyo.

Yuki stared at Kyo for a moment, with a questioning look on his face.

Kyo continued, "I ran into Akito! He told me what really happened the other day! How could you not have told me?! How could you go and let me bring Tohru back here after that?! How?!"

Yuki closed his eyes, not surprised, but still disappointed that Akito had told Kyo the truth, "Look, Miss Honda wouldn't let us tell you. She made the decision to come back here today on her own. She didn't want you to stop her. That's why no one told you. Now you have to calm down and come with me."

"Calm down?!" cried Kyo, "I can't calm down! We have to find Tohru before he gets to her!"

"Listen to me, Kyo. I know where Miss Honda is. If you come with me, I'll take you right to her."

"Well why didn't you just say so in the first place?"

"Just come on," replied Yuki, taking off towards the main hall, glancing over his shoulder periodically to make sure Kyo was able to keep up on his bad ankle.

At the main hall, Akito showed Tohru an evil grin as he spoke, "Do you remember when I asked you if you knew that symbolism of a glass rose? I told you that you would learn it someday. Well, I tell you now. A glass rose represents a person's dreams. They are all fragile and fleeting. And since dreams are indeed as fragile and fleeting as roses of glass, why do people persist in having hopes and dreams? It's really quite pointless, as you and the cat will eventually see. Your dreams cannot last forever."

"That's not true," Tohru replied, "It's not pointless at all. People persist in having dreams because it gives them something to believe in. And if you dream hard enough and work to make it happen, you can make just about any dream come true. If people give up on their dreams, life is not worth living. That is why, even when others may tell them that it's impossible, people continue to dream new dreams and hold onto the dreams they already have."

Outraged by Tohru's outburst, Akito's grip tightened on her chin as he spun her around, then he let go and sent her flying. Tohru's eyes squeezed shut as she prepared for contact with the ground, but flew open again when she heard her name being called out behind her. Before she had time to register the voice, she felt two arms wrap around here and stop her fall. The room went dead silent.


	25. Chapter 25

Disclaimer: Come on, now. If I owned Fruits Basket, I wouldn't be writing this fanfic. But I am writing it. So guess what. I don't own Fruits Basket.

A/N: I'm sorry you guys. The curse does end in this chapter but I don't really explain how. I will explain it in the next chapter, I promise (though some of you have probably figured it out). I meant to explain in this chapter, but when I started writing it as I originally planned, I really didn't like it, so I went back and changed the whole chapter, leaving out the explanation (but trust me, the chapter is better than it was).

Roses of Glass Chapter 25 

Kyo and Yuki reached the main hall just in time to see Akito toss Tohru towards the ground. Kyo yelled out he name and ran forward to catch her. As it became obvious that he would not reach her in time, Kyo saw someone else step in and break Tohru's fall (A/N: bet you weren't expecting that). Everything in the room seemed to stop as the occupants watched Hatori's arms wrap around Tohru. There was a collective gasp in the room as…nothing happened!

Once Tohru had regained her balance, Hatori let go of her and she ran over to Kyo. Hatori then turned his gaze to Akito and, to everyone's surprise, spoke up to him, "I am not going to let you do this. Not anymore. For years I've stood silently by and watched, or even helped, as you've hurt just about every member of this family. Repeatedly. But I refuse to stand by any longer. And I certainly refuse to continue being used by you to inflict pain on others. I will not allow you to do to these two, or any other members of this family, what you did to Kana and me. They deserve better than that. And, I think perhaps, you've just officially lost you power over the rest of us. But even if that is somehow not true, you've lost the ability to manipulate me. I don't care what the consequences to myself are, if you still have any power in this family, I will not be part of your evil plans anymore."

As the other members of the family stared at Hatori in shock, an equally stunned Akito asked, in and unusually small voice, "Why? Why were you able to hold her? Why didn't you transform?"

"Because," answered Yuki, stepping around Kyo and Tohru, "Hatori was right. You just lost your power over the zodiac members. We are not members of the zodiac any longer. The curse is broken. None of us ever has to worry about transforming ever again. We're all free to live normal lives. And that includes you, as well, Akito. I think you will find that your curse has also been broken."

A murmur stared to go through the crowd. Could the curse seriously be broken? Hatori had just held Tohru, but what if it was just a fluke? It was certainly hard to believe that the curse they had lived with for their entire lives could suddenly be gone.

"I don't believe you! It's a lie!"

At Akito's outburst, Yuki nodded at Tohru. She reached down and gently grabbed Kyo's left hand, then moved her own hand up to his wrist. As her fingers brushed against the beads he wore, he started to jerk his hand away. But he glanced down and met Tohru's eyes, which were pleading with him to trust her. Kyo agonized over this decision for a moment. Making up his mind, he took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and slowly nodded. Time stretched out for him as he prepared to become the monster. Tohru took hold of the beads and pulled them off Kyo's wrist. Kyo's eyes squeezed more tightly shut, only to fly open a moment later, when he realized he wasn't transforming. He gazed down at Tohru, who was smiling back up at him. He hesitantly reached his arms around her and pulled her into his embrace. Still nothing happened. Kyo let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding and tightened his grip on Tohru.

The murmuring of the crowd returned, but this time there was and added element of cheer. It was true. These were no mere flukes. If the removal of Kyo's beads wasn't enough proof, the fact that he was still holding Tohru, and was not a cat, certainly backed up the idea. And if anyone needed still further proof, Momiji happily supplied it. He rushed over and threw his arms around Tohru, from behind as Kyo was also still holding her.

At Tohru's small gasp of pain, both boys released her and Kyo turned to face Akito with narrowed eyes, "I don't know exactly what you did, but you made a big mistaking in telling me that you hurt Tohru. Everything Hatori said applies to me, too. I won't let you control a second longer. And if you EVER come after Tohru again, I will pay back on you every pain you have ever inflicted on anyone in this family!"

When he finished his speech, Kyo grabbed Tohru's hand and turned and stocked out of the building, dragging her along behind him. Akito, angered by Kyo's defiance, tried to follow after him and make him pay. He had not taken two steps, however, when Hatori stepped in front of him. Yuki and Shigure joined Hatori. One by one, the others followed until all of the formerly cursed family members had moved to create a barrier to cut short his pursuit.

Realizing that he had truly lost all power over the now ex-zodiac members of the family, Akito flew into a rage. When his short fit was over, he went completely blank, as if stuck in a trance. Without saying a word, he left the hall through a back entrance and retreated back to his own quarters.

Meanwhile, at the house they were staying in, Kyo sat with Tohru in her room. Despite the complete privacy, he sat some distance away from her, his head bent, looking at the floor. He let out a sigh, "Akito told me he was the one who cut off your hair."

Tohru tensed, but nodded, "Um, yeah."

"He also hinted that he did more to you than that."

When Tohru didn't answer, Kyo continued, "What did he do to your back? I want to see it."

Tohru bit her lower lip and began to cry as Kyo came around behind her, but when he placed his hand over hers on the floor, she gave a small nod and moved to lift up the back of her sweater. She closed her eyes as she heard his sharp intake of air. She, herself, had not seen the damage done to her back, but she could imagine, from what she had felt, what it must look like.

When Kyo grabbed the hand holding up the sweater and lowered it back down, Tohru's tears started to come faster. Kyo then placed his hands on her shoulders and carefully guided her around to face him. He pulled he into his arms again, letting her cry on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, "Tohru, I'm so sorry you had to go through that. I'm sorry. You did it for me, didn't you? You were trying to help break the curse? And Akito must have found out?"

Tohru wiped a hand across her eyes, "I WAS trying to help break the curse. That's why I didn't tell you what really happened. But Akito didn't know. He did this to me because I stood up to him. I yelled at him."

"You did?!" Kyo asked in surprise, "What did you say?"

"He was talking about locking you up and I told him that id he did that, he would have to lock me up, too, because I wouldn't break my promise to you."

For a moment, Kyo just stared at her. Then he grabbed her hand; fingering the ring he had given her. His expression turned suddenly shy as he asked, "What would you think about upgrading this then?"

Tohru looked confused for a minute, then her eyes widened in understanding. Kyo nodded, turning bright red, "Tohru, when we finish high school, would you, maybe, wanna get married?"

Tohru's face broke into the brightest smile Kyo had ever seen. Her answer was, "Yes!"


	26. Chapter 26

Disclaimer: Fruits Basket is the property of Natsuki Takaya. I am not Natsuki Takaya. I do not own Fruits Basket.

A/N: It's almost finished. I could have ended with this chapter, but I thought the story need an epilogue, so there will be one more chapter after this.

Roses of Glass Chapter 26 

The crowd in the main hall started to stir again after the spectacle they had witnessed. Most of the group decided to head back with Shigure to see Kyo and Tohru, although no one in the group really knew what they were going to do when they saw the couple. Some in the group wanted to thank them, others wanted to make sure they were okay, and still others wanted to lecture them for being so reckless, while some wanted to do all three. But, for whatever reason, a large group was headed to the house that Kyo and Tohru were sitting in at that very moment.

The group had been walking in silent thought until Momiji asked, "What exactly happened? How is the curse broken? I've been trying to figure it out, but I just can't."

"Well now, Momiji, that's a very good question. I'm glad you asked," said Shigure, "I think I'll let Yuki explain it to you. After all, the whole thing was his idea."

Everyone turned to look at Yuki, who let out a sigh. Then Haru spoke, "Of course it was Yuki's idea. I bet it's brilliant."

"Actually," replied Yuki, "I don't think it was all that brilliant. In fact it's really quite simple. You all remember the day you came for dinner after Kyo and Miss Honda's first date? That's the day I thought it up. Actually, Miss Honda kind of helped, though I'm not sure she knows that."

"Then it must really be pretty simple," interrupted Hiro. In response, Haru hit him in the back of the head, causing Hiro to glare up at the older boy. Haru ignored Hiro and moved over to ruffle Kisa's hair, further angering Hiro until Kisa grabbed his hand and continued walking with the group.

Haru moved beside Yuki and announced, "You can continue now."

"Anyway," Yuki went on, "We were talking about the old folktale, and how she had liked the cat since the first time she had heard that story. It got me thinking, everything about the curse, from the zodiac members personalities and who we get along with, to Akito's power over us, has been linked to the folktale. So I figured the cure must also be linked to the folktale. Once I thought of that, it wasn't too hard to think of what could be done, especially if you think that, by undoing part of the family's curse, you could cause the whole thing to fall apart."

"I get it. So you undid the part where the cat is being left out; his curse of being the outsider. Instead of tricking the cat into missing a banquet to which he had been invited, the rat brought the cat to a banquet to which he had been excluded. What a clever little brother I have," exclaimed Ayame.

Hatori added, "Which is why the curse wasn't broken until now. Even if someone had thought to try this in a past generation, the rat and cat could not play their parts because they only felt disdain toward each other. But in this generation, partly in thanks to living arrangements and partly in thanks to Tohru, Yuki and Kyo have managed to get beyond their differences caused by the curse being related to the folktale."

"So," continued Kagura, as she caught on to the idea, "Not only was Yuki able to bring himself to bring Kyo to the banquet, but Kyo was at a point where he would willingly go along with Yuki."

"Exactly," Shigure concluded, "and by actually doing so, they took out a tiny part of the history of the curse, causing the rest of the curse to unravel and the curse itself to be eliminated."

"Spoken like a true poet," Ayame told him.

"Novelist! Novelist!"

By this point they had reached the house. Shigure lead the group into the living room and told them to make themselves comfortable while he found Kyo and Tohru. While most of the group sat down, Kagura took Kisa with her to the kitchen to see what refreshments they could stir up. Shigure moved to the stairs leading up to the second floor and yelled, "Kyo? Tohru? Are you up there? We have guests! Come on down! Everyone wants to see you!"

Shigure chuckled to himself as he listened to the surprised squeak, followed by a few bumps and thumps coming from the second story. When Kyo and Tohru appeared a few moments later, Shigure asked, with a grin on his face, "So, where were you? What were you doing?"

"We weren't doing anything! Get your mind out of the gutter, you sick bastard!" Kyo yelled in response.

Shigure then noticed the large grin that was still on Tohru's face. Glancing back towards Kyo, he noted that the younger boy was actually struggling to keep an angry expression on his face. Turning more serious, Shigure asked again, "What were you really doing? Come on, I can tell something's up."

Tohru looked to Kyo, who rolled his eyes and shrugged. Tohru leaned forward and whispered in Shigure's ear. Shigure moved his head back in surprise, but then a grin broke out on his face as well, "Is that so? Well, congratulations. Shall we go tell the others? It gives us something to celebrate, as if we didn't already have a reason. We'll stay up all night. It'll be a great party."

Kyo looked a bit dubious, but Tohru was nodding enthusiastically. Shigure lead them to the living room, where everyone, including Kagura and Kisa, were waiting and the refreshments were all set out. As Kyo and Tohru followed him into the room, Shigure cleared his throat, "Well guess what, everyone. It seems we have one more reason to celebrate. You all, of course, already know it's New Year's and that the curse has been broken. But, we have an engagement to celebrate now as well, so let's all congratulate the happy couple, who will, I hope, at least wait until they finish high school to get married."

Tohru nodded and everyone came running over to offer congratulations, and to say thank you, and to scold the couple for being so reckless at the banquet. The celebration lasted the entire night and ended up with the whole gang watching the first sunrise of the New Year together. To many of the people there, it was the first New Year's celebration that actually felt like a new beginning. And it was one New Year that each of them would remember for as long as they lived.


	27. Epilogue

Disclaimer: While I can say I own copies of both the anime and manga, I do not own Fruits Basket or any of the characters.

A/N: Well, I this is the last chapter for this story. Thanks everyone for helping make it this long. While I hadn't been planning on a sequel, which was suggested to me, I am already working on a new Fruits Basket fic, so I hope you will all give it a try. I'll put a short summary for it at the end of this chapter. Oh, if anyone is wondering, I didn't include Rin and Kureno in the epilogue because this story is after the anime, and they don't appear in the anime or any other time in this story.

Roses of Glass Epilogue 

Slightly less than a year and a half later, just after they finished high school, Kyo and Tohru were married amidst the blooming cherry trees. They had opted for a Western-style wedding and, due to help from the other Sohmas and Uo and Hana, it ended up being quite elaborate (Ayame provided the dresses for Tohru and her attendants). In the end, it seemed as if everyone either of them had ever known was there, with the exception of Akito, who had been receiving treatments for his "withdrawal from reality." Even Tohru's aunt, uncle, and cousins had come and were, at her grandfather's insistence, on their best behavior.

After the wedding, Kyo and Tohru moved into their new house, located between Shigure's place and the main house. This had caused some whining from Shigure about losing his cook and housekeeper, but when Tohru offered to continue on, he declined, saying she had her own house to worry about. He had to reassure her several times that he would actually be all right on his own.

Kyo took on work at Kazuma's martial arts school as an instructor and Tohru continued to work part-time until the arrival of their first child, a son named Hibiki (taken from my brother's Sims game). Kyo turned out to be a great father, which a few people found surprising, and he was extremely proud of his son. No one was shocked to find out that Tohru was a good mother. Their friends and family were expecting the couple to have a fairly large family. Right now the two seemed more concerned with trying to convince Kazuma to get out, meet a nice woman and eventually settle down and get married.

After high school, Yuki had decided to take advantage of the new freedom offered to the Sohmas, and left to study abroad. In his letters to those still in Japan, he would occasionally insert ambiguous comments about a female friend. There was a lot of speculation amongst the Sohmas as to how close Yuki and this "friend" were. Although after a few years of hearing about her, most of the family assumed it was a pretty serious relationship. There were rumors circulating that she would be joining him on his next visit home.

Shigure and Mii had officially become a couple, but that hadn't changed Shigure at all. Now, he simply had more time to torment her. Mii, for her part, was starting to be able to tell when he was pulling her along and was a bit less stressed then she once was, though he could still her on edge when he really tried. Shigure was currently working on a novel loosely based on the Sohma curse, with names changed, of course.

Hatori had been hooked up with a friend of Mii's but has been somewhat hesitant to let the relationship become serious. Still, his two closest cousins were glad to see him getting back in the dating game. While they knew he could never forget Kana, they agreed that it was time he tried to start moving on. Most of his dates are double dates with Shigure and Mii, to ease him back into the waters.

Ayame's shop continues to do business and he and Mine have continued with the same relationship they've always had. Yuki and Ayame actually grew a bit closer after Yuki moved away. The two started to keep up a formal but polite correspondence and some people suspect Ayame might actually know details about Yuki's female friend.

Kagura met and started dating a boy named Ryo. Shigure found this quite humorous and he has plenty of time to tease her about it, as she decided to take over Tohru's duties as Shigure's housekeeper and cook.

Since the curse was broken, Haru had not again turned black. He was attending a small, mid-ranking university in Tokyo. He remained single, and seemed to be reasonably content that way. He was handling Yuki's absence better than anyone would have expected.

While Momiji's personality had remained the same, he had, during his last year of high school, finally matured physiologically. His new looks were really popular with females and caused his own fan club to form. Being continually chased by girls, he wasn't about to settle into a real relationship. He was enjoying his newfound harem to the fullest.

Kisa and Hiro were probably the most serious couple behind Kyo and Tohru. AS they finished high school, they stayed close and had definitely attained true itemhood. It was being assumed that theirs would be the next wedding in the Sohma family, but both said they were going to go to university before they even considered it.

The most unusual new development came about due to a wisecracking comment from Kyo. He had mentioned, after seeing them at the wedding, how funny it would be to see Ritsu and Uo in the same room more often. Surprisingly it turned out that sometimes opposites really do attract, and the pair had been spotted together with some frequency since then. Nobody in the family knew quite what to think of the new not-quite-yet-couple. It was pretty strange.

Hana had taken a job working for Ayame. When he met her, he decided her style might do well at his shop. So he had hired her on as a design assistant and together the two had developed a more gothic line of outfits for him to sell. She was, like Haru, still single, leading Tohru to occasionally wonder how they would work as a couple. So far, she had done nothing to push them together.

Akito had eventually come out of his trance-like withdrawal, but he had not, much to the relief of everyone, ever really returned to his former self. He had lost a lot of the anger in his heart that had made him so evil. After the curse was lifted, his general health began to improve. He still spent most of his time locked up in his quarters by himself. But even when he was seen, he had a less malevolent air about him.

Looking back, it appeared that Yuki's plan had accomplished everything he had wanted it to. By breaking the curse, the lives of every one of the formerly cursed family members had been improved. It had made him feel amazing at Kyo and Tohru's wedding to see everyone looking happier than he had ever seen them before, and know that he had played a part in that.

A/N: Here is the summary for my next, currently untitled fic (I'll have a title by the time I post it): A new student, with a familiar face transfers to the school. She seems to know more about the Sohmas than an outsider should and she despises all of them except Kyo. A dark secret is revealed. Memories are uncovered. Jealousy abounds.

Thanks once again to everyone who read and reviewed Roses of Glass. I hope to hear from you again during this next story.


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